Riven's Guilt, Irelia's Forgiveness
by TwoHeartedAlien
Summary: Riven is seriously wounded by Singed's melters during Noxus' invasion of Ionia, she barely escapes only to be caught by Captain Irelia Lito. Largely Riven POV.
1. Chapter 1

Riven could feel her anxiety sitting angrily in the pit of her stomach. It was the first mission she had under the title of Commander; she felt she wasn't ready for the position or the mission really. She wasn't even twenty years old, the youngest promotion to a commanding rank ever seen in the Noxian military but it's not as if Riven was going to turn down the chance. Her fast climb in the military was partly attributed to her 'Poster Child' status, a symbol of strength and meritocracy, an ideal Noxian. This had always come between her and other members of the military both in training and in the field, believing that Riven felt she was above them.

This first mission was an important one, Noxus had decided to move forward with its plans on invading Ionia and while there had been a few small battles while entering the land, it was time for a much larger battle. Riven had been ordered to take Fury Company and engage the forces settled at medium sized village (one she couldn't pronounce the name of) further inland. The orders said to take no prisoners and leave no survivors, she hated the idea of killing everyone inside the village, military or civilian, but she couldn't disobey orders so soon after being promoted. She sighed loudly before one of her men ran up to her, holding a map.

"We're almost there Commander, should only be another twenty minutes of walking. Though I expect they'll be ready and have gotten word of our movements. They could engage with us at any time." Riven nodded in response, agreeing with the young man.

"Have everyone ready themselves in case of an ambush of some kind." The man nodded before running back to the men walking behind her. She hadn't had the time to decide on a second in command just yet, but she suspected she would pick him, one of the few who followed her orders without talking back and questioning her promotion.

Sure enough, only five minutes later, arrows flew out of the nearby trees, taking down a few of the men in the company before a large company of men emerged from the same trees. As Riven unclasped her rune sword from the holder on her back, it dawned on her that the information given in the reports sent to her was wrong. The enemy force that was stationed here was much larger than previously suggested, twice as large. This had just gone from a decisive defeat to a long drawn out engagement, at best.

As the hours of fighting raged on, it turned out Riven was right, even though she had sent a man for reinforcements, no one had appeared yet even though Ionian reinforcements seemed to be appearing out of nowhere. Riven and her men were exhausted but there was no way to stop until reinforcements came, if they ever did.

The battle went from hours into days as Noxian reinforcements finally made an appearance over twelve hours in, they were just barely preventing this battle turning into a loss. A few command tents had been set up to allow for the various commanders to leave the battle to discuss strategy, none of what was suggested seemed to work. This engagement was nothing like the decisive victories earlier in the invasion and Riven was far from certain about what had changed; the Ionians were finally fighting back. The invasion wasn't going to be as simple as squashing the blindly peaceful people as High Command had suggested in the months prior.

Eventually Noxus became nervous, the battle had lasted almost a week now and Noxus was no closer to defeating the Ionians. That nervousness and desperation to be victorious became clear to Riven when she was on the battlefield, hearing the sound of catapults firing in the distance. She looked the sky, seeing the barrels of Singed's melters flying through the air. They had been told the melters would only be used in extreme circumstances, it had never crossed Riven's mind they'd be willing to use it on their own men in order to take out the Ionians. She should have known.

"Run!" She screamed the men nearby who hadn't seen the flying melters or known what they were if they had. It wasn't long before the melters hit the earth behind her, hitting Noxian and Ionian alike.

Riven collapsed as she felt the poison seeping into her skin. The skin on her outer arms and back burning, melting. She let out a scream of agony, like many of the men dying in the field nearby. She could feel the noxious gases burning the inside of her throat, suffocating her and making her fall unconscious.

Riven came back around, opening her eyes and seeing the singed grass of the field in front of her, she suspects several hours later at the very least, it was now in the evening, sun preparing to set. She attempted to stand, crying out in agony due to the chemical burns that covered her arms and back. She managed to kneel, looking at her surroundings, seeing dead men littering the field she was in. She supposed she may be the only survivor.

It took several minutes and attempts but Riven finally got to her feet, part of her Commander's uniform falling apart due to the chemicals, but she remained largely covered. She managed, inch by inch, to reach the forest that the Ionian forces had emerged from days ago. Riven used the trees to steady herself against the trees as she managed to stumble her way through. She was in agony, but she couldn't stay out in the open field like she had been before. Her mind was set on managing to hide and survive the next days, not even processing what had happened to her and the many men in her company who died.

She propped herself up against a tree, not able to move any further forward, sliding down to her knees. Riven heard footsteps ahead of her, feet crunching on fallen leaves on the ground. Riven looked up, seeing a familiar Ionian face in front of her. Irelia Lito, the Will of the Blades. She had seen Captain Lito's face and name in many information briefings and reports before the invasion, listed as someone to never engage, to be afraid of.

Riven knew this would be the end of her, she had managed to survive the melters just to be caught and probably executed by the Ionian Captain of the Guards, just her luck. Riven gave into the pain caused by her burns and passed out against the tree, Captain Lito fading out her vision.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Riven slowly roused several days later, she felt hands on her body, making her want to flinch only to discover she couldn't move anything but her head. She turned to the woman beside her who had purple skin with a horn sticking out of her forehead. Soraka jumped slightly when she noticed Riven's eyes on her, surprised to see the Noxian awake but she didn't move away or stop the wrapping the bandages around Riven's right arm.

"Where am I?" Riven managed to push out in a gruff tone. Her mouth was so incredibly dry, she was so thirsty.

"You're in Ionia, in the capital. This is Captain Lito's home."

"Sorry, what?"

"This is Captain Lito's home." Riven stared at the Star Child, starting to recognise her from the same information reports she had recognised Captain Lito from. She turned her head away from the woman, before muttering a request for water. She had pieced together that she couldn't move due to some sort of salve that the Star Child must have applied to her wounds.

Soraka returned shortly with a glass of water in hand, pressing it to Riven's lips and allowing her to drink from it. When the glass was empty she placed it on the bed side table. Captain Lito appeared from the door that Soraka had just return through, Riven suspected that Soraka had informed the Captain that she was awake. Beside the door sat Riven's rune sword, she felt somewhat at ease knowing it was still here with her.

"If I'm your prisoner, why am I in your home?" Riven asked in a low grumble, looking up at the Captain.

"You're not our prisoner." Captain Lito responded curtly, folding her arms across her chest.

"You should have just killed me back there, instead of going through the trouble to heal me if you're going to kill me anyway."

"We're not going to execute you." Captain Lito said, looking at Riven with an intensely neutral expression.

"Then why am I here?"

"Because we've decided to help you." Riven looked extremely puzzled after this response, being helped by your enemies was far from what she was taught to expect.

"But why?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes!" Riven shouted in frustration.

"Tough." Captain Lito responded quickly.

"Irelia, can you turn around?" The Star Child smiled politely up at the Captain who turned around on her request. Soraka then returned to Riven's bandages, removing the dirty ones still wrapped around her upper body.

"What're you doing?" Riven snapped as Soraka began exposing her chest.

"I'm changing your bandages to prevent infection." She ignored Riven's protests before grabbing more of the salve and applying it now to Riven's exposed body. Riven was looking away, refusing to look at the damage done to her body by Singed, Noxus and their disgusting weapons. "This is exactly why I used this type of salve; I figured you would refuse to comply even if it were for your own good." Riven grumbled in reply.

"I have a status update for you." Captain Lito started, Riven's eyes turning to the Captain's back.

"What is it?"

"Currently based on our sources you've been listed as Missing in Action, presumed dead, as they couldn't find your body in the field. It looks as they've already promoted someone to take your place." Riven began straining against the Star Child to the best of her ability with her limited motion, angry about being replaced so swiftly, easily forgotten after what had been done to her.

Riven's incoherent shouting about being forgotten and abandoned was quickly ended by Soraka using a spell to knock her out so she wouldn't strain or stress herself too much out of anger. Soraka sighed loudly, rubbing her temples before returning to Riven's wound dressings. Irelia let out a small chuckle at Soraka's frustrations.

"Remind me why I agreed to help you, Irelia?"

"Because you're a kind person who likes to help others who also can't say no to me." Soraka laughed lightly in response.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Riven woke up the next day after having been knocked out by Soraka when Irelia sat on the edge of the bed, beside her. Riven stared at Irelia until she noticed Riven was awake.

"I see you're awake now. Good. You should be able to sit up slightly." Irelia said as she placed a second pillow behind Riven's head in order to help her sit up slightly before placing a tray of food across her lap. Normally Irelia would have just left Riven the tray of food and left but yesterday she had noticed how thin and gangly the soldier was, clearly living off poor rations at best. She planned to make the Commander eat no matter what.

Riven merely stared at the food, not making a move to eat it. Irelia wondered at first whether Riven thought that it was poisoned or simply didn't recognise the cuisine.

"Eat. You're incredibly thin. So, eat."

"Don't you have more important things to do than make me eat food, Captain?"

"No, my current mission is to make sure you recover. I have been doing my other duties while you've been passed out, you're asleep a lot so that's not hard to do. So, eat." Irelia picked up a fork, one she had to go out and purchase because she figured the Commander wouldn't know how to use chop sticks, and picked up some food before putting it in front of Riven's mouth. Riven just stared into Irelia's eyes, refusing to open up her mouth, causing Irelia to let out an exasperated sigh. "Don't make me force you."

When Riven continued to refuse, Irelia grabbed Riven's jaw on the side of her face that wasn't burned and forced the Noxian's mouth open before forcing the fork into her mouth. Riven stared at the Ionian before reluctantly chewing what was in her mouth. Irelia held up the fork for her to take it.

"Will you do it yourself now or will I have to continue to force you?" Riven grumbled while she took the fork from her hand.

"I assume the rations given out by the Noxian army aren't great." Irelia said, gesturing to Riven's thin mangled body.

"What rations?" She snorted at the suggestion that Noxus provided regular supplies and rations to their oversized army.

"They don't supply rations?"

"Not reliably. They have too many soldiers." Irelia pursed her lips instead of responding to the honesty. After eating about half the plate, Riven put her fork down, making eye contact with Irelia, aggression and frustration showing on her face. "Why'd you bother saving me? If it were the other way around, I would have been told to kill you."

"I know. Ionia is different to Noxus, we don't believe in that kind of punishment. Some might disagree out of anger for the actions Noxus has taken, but you're just a Commander, you do as you're told." Riven sat there, silent, picking at the food on the plate, Irelia could sense the guilt that Riven felt about her actions but decided not to ask anything about it just yet. Riven looked up to see Irelia's eyes commanding her to finish the food on her plate, the Ionian didn't have to say what she wanted from her. Riven cleared the plate in front of her and Irelia took the tray out of the room.

As Irelia placed the tray on the counter in the kitchen, she heard a knock on her front door, walking to it to open it up. Outside Irelia's door stood a few members of the Council of Elders, including Karma who smiled politely at her.

"Can we come in? We have something to discuss with you." Karma asked Irelia, who nodded in return, letting them inside.

"What do you need to speak to me about?" Karma sighed, turning slightly to the other Elders with her.

"We're having a disagreement over Commander Riven's status here in Ionia. Some of the Elders feel as if we should bring her to justice over her actions. We have reliable intel that places her at the massacre that took place in many of the Navori villages." Irelia sighed, rubbing her temples.

"Karma, do you want this?"

"No, I do not. I believe it isn't the way we should conduct ourselves, especially when she's just a Commander, barely a member of High Command. I believe trying to bring Riven to justice is just a way to fulfil some people's need for revenge."

"I agree." Irelia said curtly, staring at some of the Elders standing nearby. "I refuse to let anything happen to the Commander. End of discussion. If you'll excuse me, I need to go back to tending to her injuries." Irelia ushered the group out of her door, earning a small smile from Karma as she did so.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Irelia had finally left her alone after Riven ate her meal; she took the opportunity to try standing up for the first time in weeks. She had been stuck in Irelia's house in the guest bedroom for weeks without being able to leave the bed due to the Captain's constant hovering. There had been a knock at the door; Riven could hear it from the upstairs where the bedrooms were located. Riven quietly opened the door slightly in order to hear what was going on.

"Once again, no. I'm not letting you carry out your petty revenge on someone who had nothing to do with it." It was Irelia's voice, anger coming through her tone.

"How could you continue to harbour a war criminal, someone who participated in the murder of hundreds of military men and civilians? Do you no longer care Captain Lito? We both know she's more than just a Commander, she's the Poster Child of Noxian ideals. Many idolise her and her strength." The man's words drew out an exasperated sigh from the Captain.

"You know I care. There is more to life than getting revenge; we're not going to punish someone who is _**just**_ a Commander because you can't control your anger."

"Well then offer to return her to Noxus in exchange for something! At least get something out of saving the life of the murderous Noxian you have in your guest room."

"I'm ending this discussion. My answer is final. It was the same two weeks ago and it's the same now. Leave." Irelia said before slamming the door. Riven continued listening to see what was happening next before she heard the Captain stomping angrily up the stairs. She quickly closed the door and rushed back to the bed, jumping on it back first, forgetting her injuries temporarily as the salve has been working so well to numb the pain. So when Irelia entered the room, Riven was writhing on the bed in pain. Irelia ran to her, trying to check the bandages for the source of the pain, before Riven finally calmed down.

"You alright?" She asked Riven, concern showing on her face and in her eyes. Riven nodded before Irelia stood up, walking to the dresser on the other side of the room, grabbing the salve left behind by Soraka. "I'll apply some more salve to the burns." Riven went wide eyed at the idea of Irelia undressing her, Soraka had been the one to do it for the last few weeks.

"W-Wait." Riven stammered, her arm extended out in front of her. She couldn't put her finger on why it bothered her so much that Irelia would see her undressed when it didn't bother her when Soraka did.

"Why?" Irelia looked at her, puzzled.

"You'll end up seeing me shirtless."

"That would be part of redressing your wounds, yes." Irelia still missing the point of Riven's protests, as if seeing Riven without a shirt wasn't a big deal to her. "I've seen many women shirtless, don't worry about it." She said to reassure Riven before turning a deep crimson colour at the implication she had accidentally made. Riven laughed loudly, soothing Irelia's embarrassed, seeing something on Riven's face other than anger or frustration in weeks. Her laugh is nice, she thought.

Irelia used Riven being distracted to begin removing her bandages, exposing her body. Riven's smile and laugh disappeared quickly, still refusing to look at her own body and injuries. The Commander remained silent as Irelia rubbed salve over her burns before eventually redressing them with new bandages. Riven lets out a slight whimper as Irelia's hands move across her breasts with the redressing, Irelia pauses, looking at Riven.

"Did I hurt you?" Riven looks away from her, her cheeks dusted with a pink colour.

"N-No. Don't worry about it." Irelia watches her for another moment before returning to the bandages. The pair sat in an uncomfortable silence for several moments before Irelia took it as her cue to leave Riven alone. "Wait." Irelia turns around to look at her, "I'm really bored, is there something I can do. Please."

"I'll get you some books to read."

"Oh, um. Nevermind, thanks anyway." Irelia raises an eyebrow at the swift rejection of something to end her boredom.

"Do you not like to read?"

"No it's not that." The Noxian looked away from her, hesitating to come forward with the truth. Now she was curious.

"What is it then?"

"I can't." Riven gestured for Irelia to fill in the blanks, Irelia maintained a blank expression, choosing to force the Noxian to say it.

"You can't?" Riven sighed, rubbing at her eyes.

"I can't read." Riven grumbled under her breath, only just loud enough for Irelia to hear her.

"I see. I have some duties I need to attend to but I'll return with some books and I'll teach you." Irelia said before exiting the room, refusing to allow Riven time to protest and refuse her help.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

When Irelia entered the guest room, Riven sat propped up on some pillows, staring out the window clearly lost in her own thoughts, watching the sun set over the horizon in the distance. The Ionian cleared her throat in order to announce her arrival, finally getting the Noxian's attention.

"See something interesting?" Riven looked at her briefly before returning her eyes to the window, saying nothing. Irelia sighed at Riven's cold behaviour before placing the tray of food on the Noxian's lap. "Eat some food."

Getting Riven to eat anything was an absolute battle, one that Irelia was winning once a day at best. She couldn't put her finger on why Riven continued to refuse to eat, though it's not as if she could simply ask, the Noxian refused to talk most of the time responding in grunts and when she did talk it always carried an angry, frustrated undertone. Irelia wasn't sure whether Riven didn't like people in general or she didn't like her specifically. She hoped it was the former with how much effort she was putting into helping the Noxian. She sighed audibly when Riven pushed the tray away.

"We can't keep having this battle every day Riven. You need to eat; you're having a hard enough time healing as it is with Singed's poisons. Please." Irelia picked up the fork, offering the Noxian the handle. Riven returned her eyes to Irelia, staring blankly at her for several moments before turning away.

"Fine. I can't fight you on this anymore. Eat it, don't eat it, I no longer care." Irelia said, trying to make it sound as if she actually meant it before standing up and heading for the door. She left some books she had brought home with her that day on the dresser by the door; she would attempt to come back another day when Riven was in a better mood to teach her.

Irelia spent a few hours sorting through paper work before heading off to bed, trying to find a way to calm her nerves that were on edge due to Riven's behavioural issues. She couldn't figure out why she couldn't just give up on the Noxian who clearly seemed to not want her help at all, but she couldn't resist attempting over and over to help Riven. Irelia groaned slightly, pinching the bridge of her nose before climbing into her own bed, pulling the sheets over her shoulder.

A few hours later, Irelia was woken up to blood curdling scream from the other side of the house, where Riven was staying. She leapt up out of bed, quickly trying to gather some clothing before running to the opposite end of the upstairs section of her house. Irelia forced the door open, seeing Riven sitting up on the bed in the dark, breathing as hard as she would have had she just return from a mile long sprint. Irelia stepped closer to the Noxian, her hair stuck to her forehead due to sweat, the Ionian taking the chance to sit on the edge of the bed near Riven's knees.

"Riven, are you okay?" The Noxian stared at her before her hands began to shake, her lower lip quivering as if she were about to cry. Irelia flicked the sheets off of Riven's lower half before pulling Riven's legs across her lap and pulling her upper body into a tight embrace, holding the Noxian's head against her chest. She felt Riven cry into her before she heard the sounds that came with it, holding her tight and carding her fingers through the woman's hair. "What happened?" She asked, hoping that Riven may finally share something personal.

"I-I've been having th-these nightmares. Ever since I w-woke up here." Riven stammered through her tears, feeling vulnerable and taking solace in Irelia's offer of comfort. "I see all the people dying, the people I killed, my men who d-died and S-Singed and his stupid melters." Irelia, without thinking, pressed her lips against the top of Riven's head, the Noxian leaning into the contact slightly.

The pair sat on the bed in silence, Riven in Irelia's arms for almost an hour as she calmed down before she asked Irelia to stay in her bed for the night, too afraid to be left on her own again. Irelia crawled under the sheets beside the Noxian, wrapping her arm around her gently, trying to prevent herself from hurting the burns that Riven was still barely recovering from. Irelia watched Riven, waiting for her to fall back to sleep before doing so herself.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

Riven woke up alone in her bed the next day, by the looks of where the sun was in the sky, she had slept well into midday. She almost believed Irelia coming to her aid in the middle of the night was a dream before she saw the other side of the bed, having clearly been slept in the night prior. There was a slight knock at the door before Irelia's voice followed.

"Riven, you awake?"

"Come in." The door opened, Irelia walking through with Soraka behind her. Riven gave Soraka a curious look, she hadn't seen the Star Child in weeks as Irelia had taken over helping dress her burns.

"I've come for a check-up," Soraka started, clearly seeing the confusion on Riven's face, "If your burns have improved enough, you'll be able to start moving around the house." The idea of being able to leave this bed for the first time in weeks made Riven's heart sing. Soraka saw the look on her face and smiled in return before kneeling at the side of the bed, starting to remove the bandages.

Once they were removed, Soraka examined her arms and then asked her to turn over onto her front to get a good look at her back. Over the last few weeks she had become comfortable with the pair of women in the room seeing her shirtless, it was unavoidable as she still couldn't care for her burns herself. The embarrassment quickly faded with every dressing change. Riven lifted her head from the pillow, looking at the Star Child who pursed her lips as she looked at the burns with extreme focus.

"What is it?"

"They're getting better, but it's a very slow process. I figure it's something in Singed's melters that is causing the healing process to be so difficult. It doesn't help that you're not eating, Irelia tells me everything. However, I think you've improved enough to be allowed out of bed." Riven grinned widely, being stuck in bed had been driving her nuts. She heard Irelia chuckle from the other side of the room. Soraka applied some more salve to her wounds before redressing them, passing Riven a shirt from one of the draws in the bed side table. The Noxian stood up and stretched, enjoying a chance to move around.

"I have some food downstairs, come join me." Irelia said before heading downstairs, Riven and Soraka following. Soraka bid her farewell before leaving Riven and Irelia alone for their meal. Riven mostly picked at her food with her fork, occasionally forcing herself to eat some of it, Irelia watched her. She wondered if Riven's refusal to eat had anything to do with the nightmares she was experiencing.

"Riven, what're your plans for the future? For when you've recovered?" Irelia asked coyly. Riven hesitated for several moments before answering the Captain's question.

"I haven't really thought about it. I don't think I can go back." The Noxian shrugged slightly, avoiding eye contact as she took a few more mouthfuls of the breakfast Irelia had made. Irelia took this as a hint to stop prying, at least for now; she would come back to the topic later if she could get the Noxian to trust her some more.

The pair finished their meal, largely in silence, before Irelia dressed in her usual regalia and left, saying something about duties and errands to take care of but Riven wasn't really listening. Once Riven was left alone in Irelia's home, she began snooping around to find out more information about the Captain. Riven figured there was more to Irelia's looking after her than just being kind or being Ionian, hopefully getting to know more about the Captain would clue her into what it was. At first the Noxian looked through what was openly set out in the living room downstairs, containing mostly books that Riven couldn't read, she found it odd that someone of Irelia's position didn't possess a TV or something from Piltover to use in her spare time, it wasn't as if she wouldn't be able to afford it.

Riven headed upstairs to all the bedrooms, it confused her to see Irelia living in a family home, made for three or four people and not in a private quarters in the Placidium like others would. Maybe she likes her privacy, Riven mused. She pushed her way into Irelia's bedroom, feeling slightly guilty for her invasion of Irelia's space but curiosity pushing her forward.

The large book case to the left of the door first caught Riven's attention, Irelia clearly enjoyed reading, her eyes skimming over the titles unable to read most of them either because they contained words she never used in the military or they were in Ionian. After a moment her focus turned to a chest at the end of the bed, Riven knelt in front of it, fiddling with the basic locks and prying the very heavy lid up.

Riven wasn't sure what she was expecting to be inside the chest, but it certainly wasn't what she found. Inside the chest was a pile of leather restrains of various types, a rubber gag clearly imported from Piltover and a few other things such as a riding crop that had caught Riven's eye before she swiftly closed the chest again, her face bright red. Of all the things she thought would come from her snooping, knowing about Irelia's sexual tastes wasn't one of them.

After taking a moment to calm her own embarrassment and get the image of Irelia using those items out of her head, she walked to the bedside table where a picture frame sat. It was the only picture frame she had seen in the entire place now that Riven thought about it. She picked it up, looking at it closely. It was Irelia probably several years younger than she is now with an older man behind her that looked to be her father and a young man to the right of her, most likely her brother. Riven frowned as she put it together that the family members in Irelia's photo were most likely dead and that this house was their family home a long time ago. Irelia never said anything about them and she certainly didn't go anywhere to visit them if they were alive, most likely she lost them a while ago during some other Noxian invasion or battle.

"What do you think you're doing?" Irelia snapped at Riven from the door way. Riven turned to her, picture frame still in hand, seeing the look of fury in Irelia's eyes. She stammered, panicking about what she would say in her own defence, "What makes you think you can look through my belongings?" Irelia shouted, closing the gap between them and grabbing the picture frame out of Riven's hand.

Riven cried out in pain as she felt Irelia's forceful hand pressing on her back, on her burns, and forced her out the door and into the hallway. Irelia made eye contact with Riven for a moment before slamming the door in the Noxian's face.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Riven sat on the bed in the guest room embarrassed with herself. She wasn't sure what she was more embarrassed about, the fact that she got caught because she was careless and didn't expect the Captain to return or because she snooped through Irelia's stuff at all. Riven knew that she must have really crossed a line; it had been hours since she had been caught and Irelia hadn't left her bedroom. Normally by now, the Ionian would be trying to force some sort of meal on her for dinner but she hadn't bothered so far this evening. She felt her mind slowly slipping towards imaging the Captain using the items she had found in the chest before forcing back on track, at least as far as she knew, Irelia didn't know that she'd looked in there and only saw her with the picture frame.

Riven laid back on her bed, thinking up of ways to apologise when she heard the Captain emerge from her bedroom and walk downstairs. The Noxian sat up and moved to the edge of her bed before standing up and reaching the door, opening it slightly to listen to what Irelia was doing. Riven wasn't intending to pry, not after what happened earlier in the day, she honestly just wanted to know that Irelia was okay. As she was about to close the door she heard a woman's voice from downstairs, speaking to Irelia, catching only the end of the conversation.

"You caught her looking through your things?" The mystery woman asked.

"Yeah, I left for my office when I realised I'd forgotten some of my reports on my desk upstairs when I found her in my room. At first I was furious but after a while I wasn't any more and even though I'd like to be, I'm not angry with her." Irelia said, a small chuckle coming from the other woman.

"You've got feelings for the Commander, which certainly wasn't part of your plan." Feelings? What plan? Riven wondered, continuing to listen in, Irelia was hesitating to respond.

"I didn't expect it to work out this way."

"It's okay to fall in love, Irelia. Even with Noxians." The mystery woman chuckled again, causing Riven to furrow her brows in confusion. Irelia has feelings for her? Is that why Irelia continues to take care of her?

"Thank you, Karma," After a brief pause, Irelia continued, "Anyway, I have to make dinner so if you'll excuse me." Riven closed the door to her room, sitting on the floor in mild disbelief. The Captain has feelings for her and there was a mention of some sort of plan that made Riven uneasy. She didn't like the idea of her being brought here to recover due to some plan, even if Irelia wasn't sticking to it.

Riven stood up, deciding to head downstairs to where Irelia was cooking dinner. Riven stood in the doorway to the kitchen for a moment, just watching the Ionian push vegetables around in the frying pan, trying to get the courage to speak and Irelia let her, not forcing her to say anything just yet.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled, just loud enough for Irelia to hear her. "I shouldn't have gone through your things," Riven continued, getting slightly louder and more confident, "I was curious and should have just asked instead of looking through your belongings." Irelia paused for a moment, putting the wooden spoon down on the counter before turning to Riven.

"Apology accepted." The Ionian smiled at her. "I didn't hurt you when I forced you out, did I?" Riven remembered the aggressive palm on her shoulder from earlier in the day, it'd hurt a lot but she wasn't going to tell Irelia that.

"No, it was fine." The look that Irelia gave her made it clear she had seen through Riven's lie but decided to say nothing, going back to the food she was cooking.

"I hope you like…." Irelia continued talking but behind Irelia, Grand General Swain stood, staring with blistering intensity into Riven's eyes. Riven returned the stare, not able to move. A loud ringing in her ears began, her breathing quickened and when Swain opened his mouth as if he were about to speak, she felt a hand on her shoulder, pulling her out of her living nightmare. "Riven?" She pulled her eyes away from the spot she had been drilling a hole into; looking into Irelia's chest-nut eyes, calming her breathing that she hadn't realised had become so ragged. "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah, don't worry about it." Irelia's eyes scanned her, not believing that she was really okay but letting Riven get away with it. The Ionian let her hand linger on Riven's shoulder for several moments before returning to her cooking, taking the chance to glance over at Riven in concern at every opportunity.

When Irelia had finished making dinner, the pair ate at the table together, Riven clearing her plate entirely without a fight for the first time since arriving at Irelia's home. Irelia's eyes scanned her up and down in disbelief at the lack of a fight.

"What happened? You always fight me over this. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you're eating but what's with the sudden change?" What came to mind for Riven was hearing Irelia somewhat guardedly admit to her feelings for the Noxian to Karma, she didn't want to be difficult for someone who harboured such feelings for her, especially when she felt herself returning them.

"I realised you were right." Riven smiled lightly at Irelia, one of the first smiles she had given since they met, Irelia smiling right back.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

"Have you put any more thought into your plan?" Irelia asked, pulling Riven out of her slight day dream. She'd been unknowingly staring at the Captain for almost a minute, causing Riven to blush very lightly, so lightly Irelia almost missed it. Almost.

"My plan?" Riven asked, not really having listened to the question.

"Are you going to go back to Noxus once you're better?" Irelia tried to be coy, not knowing that Riven had heard her conversation with Karma, she didn't want Riven to leave. Knowing this made Riven's heart flutter slightly, something she hadn't really felt before. She hadn't even had a serious relationship before, only sleeping with various women whenever the need arose. Riven didn't know where to go from here. She guessed some honesty would be a good start.

"No, I'm not."

"Really?" Irelia made a good effort in covering her own pleasure at the idea of Riven not returning to Noxus, even though she hadn't said anything about staying either.

"I can't go back after what happened; it was bad enough being forced to participate in the slaughter of those villages when we first arrived. I'm having nightmares about it and the melters, Singed's poison melting my skin off." Riven paused, letting out a shaky breath before continuing, feeling Irelia's chest-nut eyes stuck to her with intensity, "I can't serve something so disgusting, not anymore." Riven felt a hand wrap around hers, a thumb rubbing the back of her knuckles.

"No one is going to make you go back there. As far as our intelligence reports show, they believe you're dead even if they couldn't find your body. It also doesn't seem like they plan on looking for it either."

"They wouldn't. Even if I was the 'Poster Child', a brand new Commander isn't worth looking for. Just grab the next kid in line who's barely eighteen and slap a new patch on their shoulder, they're ready to go." Irelia frowned slightly, feeling empathetic towards the Noxian.

"I'm sorry; no one should have to live like that, disposing people whenever they feel like it, having a large enough army that they can't even feed their soldiers." Irelia gave Riven's knuckles another reassuring rub before retracting her hand after realising how long she'd been holding on for. Much to her surprise, Riven grabbed for it again immediately, entangling their fingers. "How long have you been having the nightmares?"

"Since I got here. Basically every night." The pair sat in silence for a moment, causing the Noxian to wonder what was on Irelia's mind. Riven watched quietly, curiously, as Irelia moved the plates on the table to the side, clearing the space between them. Irelia quickly made eye contact before looking down at the table, hesitating for a moment and looking back up at her, locking eyes again. Riven felt Irelia's free hand reach up and cup the side of her face that was covered in gauze, gently, as to not hurt her. Suddenly she felt Irelia's lips covering hers, the Ionian leaning over the table to close the gap, Riven kissing back until she felt the Captain break away but her lips hovering just over Riven's.

Riven let go of Irelia's hand, bringing her hand up and digging it into Irelia's raven locks, pulling her lips back into a deeper kiss this time. It lasted for a few moments until Riven pulled away this time, looking up at the Ionian.

"I think now would be a good time to tell you that when I was in your room, I looked through the chest at the end of your bed." Irelia quirked an eyebrow at her, daring her to continue talking, "I didn't think Ionia's famed Captain Irelia Lito, Will of the Blades and Captain of the Guard would be into such things." Riven smirked up her. Riven liked how this had turned out, no longer feeling vulnerable and weak in front of Irelia. The Captain leaned in further, her breath hot on Riven's ear.

"Maybe I'll acquaint you with the contents of that box." Riven shuddered before Irelia continued, her seductive tone disappearing, "But for now, I have to fill out some reports. I'll probably see you before I go to bed, depends on how long it takes me." Irelia leaned back, grabbing the plates from the table and heading into the kitchen to wash them, leaving Riven in stunned silence at the mind game just played on her.

A/N: I just wanted to say thanks for the reviews and messages that I've gotten, plus the favourites and follows, I'm glad to see you guys are enjoying it so far. Don't worry, heaps more to come and there will be quick and regular updates. :D Enjoy


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

Riven laid on her bed, her hands behind her head on the pillow, thinking back to the sensation of having Irelia's lips on her own. It was different from the other women she'd been with. They were all pretty enough, nothing was wrong with them, they just weren't Irelia. Not that Riven knew what she was missing at the time; she hadn't met the Ionian yet. It was only in reflection that she could see how empty it all was.

Riven let herself feel some degree of excitement at Irelia's vague promise of more things, like the passionate kiss over the dining table, were to come if she wanted it and she certainly did. With all the new scarring on her body, Riven felt insecure about her body despite Irelia having already seen her topless countless times in the weeks that she's been staying here, Riven still refused to look at what was beneath the bandages, turning away whenever Irelia or Soraka changed them.

The Noxian sat up, hanging her legs over the edge of the bed, pulling her t-shirt over her head, deciding that she should finally face her fears and have a look when Irelia walked through the door.

"Oh, I'm sorry," The Captain said, seeing that Riven was beginning to remove her bandages, "Would you like me to come back later?" Riven shrugged, not caring what Irelia saw.

"No, you've seen it all already. I just…" Riven bit her lower lip nervously, "I haven't seen it yet, I figured I'd finally take a look at how bad it is. I guess the smart thing would be to go to the bathroom so I can take a look." Riven placed her hands on her knees, forcing her way into standing before walking down the hall to the bathroom.

Riven stood in front of the mirror, looking in it at Irelia who stood in the doorway, leading against the frame with her arms crossed against her chest with a concerned look in her eye. After taking a deep breath in, she began unravelling the bandages around her arms slowly revealing burns of various dark purples and reds. To Riven they look like they should hurt a lot more than they do but she figures its Soraka's healing and regular applications of salve that prevent her from being in constant agony. When Riven began having trouble unwrapping the bandages around her chest, Irelia stepped forward, swiftly removing the rest of it and placing it on the counter out of the way.

Riven turned her eyes from Irelia and to the mirror, taking in the extent of the damage to her body that she had been trying to ignore for the past seven weeks. Most of the damage seemed to be done to her outer arms and back, most likely when she fell unconscious face down in the field; there were only a few minor burns on her front, one along the right side of her collarbone, another on her right hip bone and one straight down the middle of her abdomen, crossing her belly button.

She turned, angling herself in front of the mirror to be able to see her back as clearly as possible, seeing several rather large burns covering the majority of her back and shoulders. It really did look like her skin had melted off, much like the imagery constantly in her nightmares. Riven felt the ringing in her ears, her breathing quickening as she saw the bald man she had met once in the reflection. She met Singed only once while she was still a Commander when he was visiting High Command one time, but Riven could see his face vividly as if she knew him well. She felt herself having trouble breathing, a familiar feeling of Singed's poison in her throat before she vomited into the toilet.

It took several minutes but eventually Riven came back around to reality, Irelia crouching beside her as the Noxian rest her head on the seat of the toilet, refusing to move. The Captain had been trying to comfort her, calm her down but most of it had gone without response from the Commander. As much as Irelia wanted to reach out and touch Riven, hold Riven, she didn't want to do so with her bare hands while she was uncovered, burns exposed to infection.

Eventually Irelia gave in after a few more minutes of Riven's lack of response, touching the back of her hand to Riven's forehead, feeling the Noxian sweating hard but not necessarily burning up. Irelia sat her up against the wall next to the toilet, Riven's eyes still glued to the tiles, as she began to redress the wounds with salve and bandages. Once she was done, Riven's eyes lifted and met Irelia's, Riven opening her mouth to speak with nothing coming out.

"It's not just nightmares anymore, is it?" Irelia asked as she as gently as possible helped Riven from the floor, supporting the Noxian on the way back to the guest bedroom.

"No." Once back inside the guest room, Irelia sat with Riven on the bed.

"Do you want me to stay in here tonight as well or do you want to be alone?" Riven hesitated for a few moments, tearing nervously at her fingernails, hating the vulnerability this condition, whatever was affecting her mind, forced her into even if Irelia was kind and respectful. Riven nodded, choosing not to speak as Irelia got up and headed back out of the room.

The Captain returned a few minutes later, having changed into some sleep wear, climbing into the bed beside Riven and choosing to let Riven decide whether she wanted comfort or space in this bed. She watched the rise and fall of Riven's shoulders before the Noxian turned to face her, curling into her tightly.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

A/N: Warning this chapter is basically just kinky smut so NSFW of course :D

The next morning Riven woke up alone, she figured by the way the sun sat in the sky it was probably the late afternoon; she had slept right through the day again. Due to the constant nightmares and her injuries, she was sleeping for twelve or more hours at a time out of exhaustion.

Riven forced herself out of the sheets and stood up, changing into a new pair of black shorts and a green t-shirt. A few weeks back Irelia had bought her some really basic clothing because most of what she had had been destroyed leaving Riven with only her ruined Commander's uniform.

The Noxian wandered around the house, trying to see if Irelia was there, which it turned out she wasn't. Riven figured she had left to take care of some of her duties as Captain of the Guard as most of her gear was missing from the area around the front door. As much as Riven was grateful for Irelia's hospitality, she was dying of boredom. The Captain didn't even own a TV, most people of high status in Noxus and Ionia owned them even if they were expensive. Riven couldn't read so it's not like she could kill time by reading the hundreds of books that Irelia owned.

Eventually she settled on a pack of cards she had managed to find in one of the draws of the table in the main entranceway. It looked largely unused. Riven perched herself in front of the coffee table in the living room, kneeling at one end of it, resting herself on her heels. She pulled the pack out of its box and began building card houses.

Over the years Riven had gotten pretty good at building these, cards are cheap to buy so even a street orphan get their hands on them and they're easy to carry with you everywhere so it served her well in the military for nights where she got bored. Riven started off by building multiple small card houses before collapsing them and building a large one, when she heard the front door unlock, Irelia coming inside and removing her gear.

"Hey." Riven called out, her eyes and her focus glued to trying to place a new card on the stack, keeping it balanced. She was so focused she didn't hear Irelia come up behind her, watching Riven place the card on top. Irelia hovered behind the Noxian until she went to place another card which is when she chose to make her move.

Riven dropped the card in her hand, knocking the house of cards over as Irelia's chin was perched on her right shoulder, kneeling behind the Noxian. Irelia's left hand moving up to her jaw, tilting her head back to look at the ceiling while her right darted quickly into her pants causing Riven to gasp in surprise. Inside Riven's underwear, Irelia began rubbing circles lightly on her clit.

"I think I have something better than card houses to keep you entertained." Irelia said against her neck, eliciting a slight whimper from Riven who had quickly fallen into submission. The Ionian chuckled possessively, continuing the circling inside the Noxian's pants. "Do you have a safe word?" Riven shuddered at the idea of whatever Irelia had in mind being enough to need a safe word. She didn't have one, she'd never done something like this before.

"Red." She blurted out, saying the first thing that came to mind. She hadn't realised how fast her breathing had gotten, Irelia had turned her into submissive clay so quickly, willing to do anything she asked. She felt herself grinding into Irelia's hand, wanting more than just the light touch she was receiving.

"Such an eager girl." Irelia said, Riven didn't need to see the smirk to know it was plastered on Irelia's face. "I want you to go upstairs and cover your burns in that numbing salve then come to my room. Understand?" Riven nodded against the hand around her jaw before Irelia stood up, removing her hand from the Noxian's pants and walking away, earning a whine from Riven due to the lack of contact.

Riven took a few shuddering breaths before standing up and heading upstairs after the Ionian, abandoning the collapsed house of cards on the table. Once inside the guest room, she quickly fumbled with the tin of salve that Soraka had left for her after their last check-up, enthusiastically removing her shirt and bandages. She shuddered at the thought of Irelia planning to be rough enough that she needed to have freshly applied numbing salve on her burns.

She quickly pulled the shirt back over her head, not bothering with the bandages as she knew as soon as she entered Irelia's room, they were coming back off. Riven pushed the door to Irelia's room open. The raven haired woman sat on the edge of her bed, one leg crossed over the other, wearing blue lingerie that made Riven's heart beat faster in excitement. She could see the chest at the end of the bed was open and ready for its contents to be used. In one hand Irelia held the riding crop she had seen in the chest the other day and in the other a pair of leather cuffs.

"Strip." Irelia commanded, watching hungrily as Riven obeyed clumsily, ready to get naked right the fuck now. The corner of Irelia's perfect lips turned up into a smirk as she pushed herself off the bed and sauntered over to Riven, the confident swing of her hips mesmerising the Noxian. "Like what you see?" Riven choked on her words, Irelia had a hell of a presence. She tossed her clothing to the ground by the door, standing exposed in front of the Ionian who ran her eyes up and down her body before speaking again. "Wrists out." Riven followed her command quickly, feeling the leather cuffs wrap tightly around her wrists, not yet bound to anything.

Irelia backed Riven up against the door, sliding her knee between Riven's legs, putting her mouth to Riven's ear and running the riding crop in her hand up and down the outside of her left thigh. Riven whimpered slightly into Irelia's shoulder, fuck she was so aroused. Irelia chuckled darkly into Riven's ear.

"You make such lovely noises, it's a shame that it doesn't fit with what I have planned." Irelia broke away from Riven, fishing something out of the chest, holding it up so Riven can see it. It was a gag. Irelia pressed the gag into Riven's mouth, the Noxian opening up willing for her, her clever fingers adjusting the straps behind her head. Irelia's fingers curled around the strap, pulling Riven forward, towards the bed. "On your knees." She growled, pushing Riven onto the bed before moving elsewhere while Riven worked on obeying her order, kneeling in the middle of the bed.

Irelia took her left wrist, looping a strap through the leather cuffs around her wrist, the strap coming from the leg of the bed. Riven had completely missed the straps set up under the bed the other day when she was in here, Irelia was definitely more kinky than she had ever imagined. Irelia was then on the right side of the bed, feeding the strap through the cuff on Riven's right hand before tightening the straps on both cuffs, pulling Riven's arms into a spread position across the bed, her ass in the air.

Suddenly there's a hand on her clit, the gag choking an animalistic whine as Irelia circles her fingers hard, building Riven up. The hand disappears only for the skin on the back of her thighs to be met with the riding crop that had been in Irelia's other hand causing the Noxian to jerk forward into the restraints.

"You're going to take twenty of those for me, love." Riven nodded into the sheets, acknowledging Irelia before leather met with her skin again. Riven managed to peer under her arm at the Ionian woman, watching her crack the crop against her thighs, Irelia still managed to look flawless even during this. Irelia swung harder, obviously displeased with the minimal responses the lighter swings had earned, carrying this new intensity through the rest of the twenty strikes.

Irelia brought the riding crop back, riding her free hand up and down it, admiring the livid skin of Riven's thighs. Riven breathed out, her heart beating fast, she hadn't realised that she'd been holding on to her breath throughout that. Fuck she was wet. Riven pressed her face into the sheets, hiding in them as Irelia's fingers danced up and down the marks she had left.

Irelia's fingers were suddenly on her clit, circling hard, her other hand in a harsh grip on her left shoulder making Riven glad that Irelia had told her to use the salve before starting. She moaned and panted into the gag, struggling underneath Irelia's commanding touch. Irelia's fingers dipped into her entrance before returning to her clit, teasing her and building her up.

At the pace Irelia was going, it wasn't long before Riven felt she was close, her legs trembling and her breathing hard. She clenched her fists, her finger nails digging into her palms, preparing herself for her release when suddenly the hand disappeared. Irelia chuckled darkly as Riven struggled with the lack of contact, her breathing harsh and uneven, letting out a frustrated groan against the gag. The Ionian's fingers were suddenly in Riven's hair, tugging harshly.

"Was that a complaint?" Riven shook her head as much as she could in Irelia's grasp. "I would hope not, you haven't earned your right to come yet. You have more work to do before then." The fingers in Riven's hair disappeared, reappearing at the cuffs on her wrists removing the straps from them. "On your back." Irelia commanded once Riven's restraints were removed, the Noxian doing exactly as told.

Riven watched as Irelia removed the lingerie and straddled her chest, feeling Irelia's wetness pressed against her chest. She swallowed so hard she was sure Irelia could hear it. She could probably feel how fast Riven's heart was beating too. Irelia's fingers undid the gag in Riven's mouth, removing it.

"Show me how talented your mouth is." She said before moving her legs forward, sitting on Riven's face and entangling her fingers in Riven's hair. Riven didn't have to be told twice, her mouth diligently working away at Irelia's hot need, her tongue flat against the Ionian's clit.

Every time Riven did something that Irelia liked, she was rewarded with a sharp tug at her hair. Riven brought her hands up and held the tops of Irelia's thighs, pulling her face in deeper. The Captain began swearing and panting, the illusion of control slipping slightly. She could feel the moisture from in between Irelia's legs rolling down the side of her face only spurring on her efforts.

When Irelia came she pulled so hard on Riven's hair that she probably pulled some of it out, not that Riven minded of course. Irelia moved backwards, sitting back on Riven's chest as the Noxian smirked up at her. After she had recovered, Irelia noticed the smirk, deciding that Riven had gained a little too much control during her orgasm. Soon the gag was returned to Riven's mouth, her wrists strapped back down though this time she remained on her back.

"You've been good. I think I'll reward you." Riven's breathing gave away exactly what she thought about that, earning a chuckle from the woman currently straddling her. The Ionian settled herself between Riven's legs, forcing her fingers into Riven's very wet core, earning an appreciative moan from the Noxian. Irelia's other hand began diligently working at Riven's clit, quickly moving back to how she was feeling minutes ago.

When her legs began to tremble again, she watched Irelia's movements closely, fearing the Captain might decide to pull away at the last second again.

"Are you close?" Irelia asked, making eye contact with Riven who nodded in response. "Not until I tell you, understand?" Riven nodded quickly again, squirming under Irelia's touch which had gotten harsher. She wasn't sure if she would last until Irelia gave her permission.

She was so close that if Irelia didn't give her permission now, she certainly wouldn't be able to hold on; Riven tossed her hips to attempt to signal this. Irelia smirked, pressing harder into her, the thrusting of her fingers picking up pace, earning a whine from Riven.

"Come for me now." It didn't take long for Riven's body to give into that command, her eyes rolling back in pleasure, her toes curling tightly. As soon as her orgasm was done, Irelia removed the restraints and gag, placing them back in the chest for now and returned to Riven on the bed. This time she reached out and carded her fingers through Riven's hair gently, the touch very different to what it was minutes ago.

It took several minutes for Riven to recover from how intense that all was, it was nothing like she had experienced ever before. She knew she wanted more. She found herself pressed up against Irelia, in her arms, not remembering moving into this position.

"Enjoy it?" Riven wordlessly nodded into Irelia's chest, closing her eyes as she began to relax.


	11. Chapter 11

Riven woke up to an empty bed, Irelia had gotten up long before her and most likely gone to take care of her duties as she always did. Riven had already developed the bad habit of sleeping in until the middle of the day due to her never leaving the house. She sat up, pushing the covers off of her body. In the corner of her eye she could see the clothes she had left on the floor the previous day had been neatly folded and placed on the dresser for her, next to them was the tub of salve and a fresh roll of bandages.

While dressing herself and her wounds, Riven noticed a pile of papers on the desk, walking towards them. In the top right hand corner of the paper was a insignia that she recognised, it was one belonging to the Captain of the Guard, Riven and her men had intercepted a few similar reports with this insignia at the beginning of their invasion. She couldn't read much of what was on the papers but there were some words that she recognised, it was a casualty count for the war.

Riven felt her fingers begin to tremble seeing the large figures in front of her, it had been far more devastating in the amount of civilian deaths than even she had thought. She clenched her fists, a feeling of guilt settling in under her skin.

"Why'd you do it?" The words made Riven jump, knocking some of the stuff on Irelia's desk over. She turned to the speaker behind her, a small girl who was maybe five or six years old. Riven swallowed hard, the ringing noise in her ears creeping up on her. She recognised this girl from a village Fury Company had invaded not long after entering Ionia. Riven had struck down the girl's father while she watched. The piercing stare the girl had given her then the same as the one she was getting now.

"Why?" The girl repeated. Riven's mouth was dry, her breathing quick and uneven, she couldn't respond. All she could do is return the stare the girl gave her.

Riven's trance was broken by Irelia opening the door to the bedroom, seeing Riven leaning back on the desk, pale as a sheet. The Ionian quickly crossed the room, worry on her face, moving to embrace the petrified Noxian in front of her. Riven moved away, refusing to let Irelia touch her, the Noxian's eyes glued to the wooden floor.

"Riven, what's wrong?" Irelia moved again, trying to touch Riven's arm only for the Noxian to pull away at the last second again. Riven pushed one of the report papers towards her instead of responding. Irelia looked at it, seeing that it was the casualty report. "I thought you couldn't read."

"I can read enough to know what I did." Irelia's look of worry turned into one of sadness, knowing the guilt she must feel. Riven moved past Irelia, heading for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"I want to be alone." Irelia stepped forward, reaching out to stop Riven from leaving. "I said I want to be alone." Riven repeated in an authoritative shout. The Noxian slammed the door behind her as she left, leaving Irelia alone and confused. Riven's behaviour had done a complete turn back to what it had been weeks ago, confusing the Ionian. She seemed to be getting worse, not better. Irelia decided for now to let Riven have her space, hoping that in a few hours, her mood may have changed.

A few hours later, Irelia realised she had been wrong. After several attempts at getting Riven to answer the door, even making food to make it more enticing, Irelia sighed in frustration. Eventually she gave into her own annoyance and got the master key to unlock the door from the outside, finding the Noxian lying on the bed in the dark, staring blankly out the window at the night sky.

"What do you want?" Riven snapped, not even turning to look at Irelia.

"I want to know what has made you behave like this. I want to help you. I cannot help you if you won't speak to me."

"I don't want your help."

"Why is that?" Irelia probed, stepping closer to the bed slowly.

"Because I don't deserve it!" Riven shouted, finally turning to look her in the eyes. Irelia's cold expression softened into something else as she moved to the bed, standing at the edge of the mattress.

"And why don't you deserve it?"

"Because I killed all those people. Your people. I don't know why you would want to have anything to do with me. I have blood on my hands."

"I have blood on my hands too. I killed many of your people Riven."

"It's not the same."

"Why is that?"

"We started it, you were only defending yourselves." Suddenly Riven felt Irelia behind her on the bed, her arms wrapping themselves around her waist. Riven began to struggle, not wanting to be touched, Irelia only tightened her grip, refusing to let the Noxian go.

"I don't know what you want me to say. Yes, Noxus started the war, but we finished it. People died on both sides, by my hand and by yours. You didn't ask for what happened to happen so I don't see you as guilty." Riven stopped her struggles, reluctantly letting Irelia hold her. "What would have happened had you refused your orders?" Riven didn't respond. "I assume they would have executed you. That doesn't leave you with much choice to refuse and do what is right."

Riven continued to look away, staring out the window as Irelia continued to talk. "As to why I want to help you, it's because I have feelings for you." Riven slowly turned her gaze to the woman behind her, surprised to hear it out loud, even though Riven already knew.

"I know." Riven mumbled, looking into Irelia's chest nut eyes.

"You know?" Irelia quirked her eyebrow.

"I heard you talking downstairs to some woman about your feelings." Irelia rolled her eyes slightly.

"Do you ever not snoop in on other people's business?"

"Your house is boring and it's not exactly easy to trust everyone when hiding somewhere completely foreign to me." Irelia pressed her lips to Riven's temple.

"You have nothing to worry about. I assume you heard the Elders who want to bring you to justice. They won't be able to do it, not when I have a say." Riven eased into Irelia's touch, sighing slightly.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

Irelia's embrace was interrupted by loud knocking on the front door downstairs, the Ionian sliding her arms out from around Riven to go answer it. Riven's guilt had been eased somewhat by Irelia, but only somewhat and only for a short while. Riven listened to Irelia's footsteps heading down the stairs, answering the front door. From the sounds of it, Irelia stepped outside and closed it behind her, probably to prevent Riven from listening again.

Xxxxxxx

Irelia answered the door and was met with Karma and Soraka standing on her door step, she smiled warmly at them, having asked them to come here to discuss Riven. She stepped outside, closing the door behind her, earning a puzzled look from the two women.

"I found out Riven likes to eavesdrop, so we have to stand outside." She chuckled lightly.

"So you wished to speak about Riven?" Karma asked, smiling politely.

"Yes, I needed to talk about two things regarding her. Soraka, I need to you to have another look at Riven, I know you said you would see her again next week but…" Irelia trailed off, a look of concern growing on her face, "But she seems to be having hallucinations, nightmares and her burns are no longer improving. She's stopped improving, she seems to be getting worse actually." Soraka's lips twisted in a way showing concern and thought.

"Is she upstairs?" Irelia nodded in reply, "I'll go see her now while I'm here." Irelia watched the Star Child open the door behind her and head inside before turning to Karma, the pair now alone on her door step.

"I needed to speak with you because Riven has come to the decision to stay and not go back to Noxus. I'll need your help in order to get her the right to stay, I can't have the Elders trying to remove her once she has recovered." Irelia looked at Karma, pleading in her eyes, hoping the Elder would pick up on the reason why. Karma's eyes watched Irelia's face for a moment before she smiled.

"I can try to help. I would need to speak to Riven first before I make any promises."

"Speak with her? About what?" Irelia's face tightened, agitation growing with in her. Was Karma planning to go ahead with the original plan in exchange for Riven's right to stay in Ionia? She didn't think Karma would do that, Karma was far too kind. That, however, didn't stop Irelia from fearing the worst.

"I need to know more about her before I can agree to let her stay. Bring her by my home tomorrow morning; I'll take her for the day. I'm sure she'd be eager to finally leave the house." Karma smiled, warmly, as if she were attempting to ease Irelia's worries. After a few moments passed, Irelia responded.

"Okay. I will bring her tomorrow." Karma nodded before turning and leaving Irelia alone on her door step. She headed back inside, returning to the guest room. The door was left open, Riven sitting on the edge of the bed with her shirt and bandages off. Soraka seemed to be using some piece of equipment to scrape at one of the burns. Riven made a hissing sound as it took off a layer of skin.

"I know it hurts, I'm sorry." Soraka said, eyeing the Noxian with worry. Riven grunted, looking away, clearly feeling vulnerable.

"Find anything?" Irelia asked, bringing the attention of the two women to her presence at the door. Soraka closed the container she had placed the skin in, turning to Irelia with a slight, gentle smile.

"I have an idea. I've just taken a sample of Riven's skin that has grown over the burn to take for testing. I'll let you know if I find anything." Soraka said as she began packing her equipment up, Riven dressing herself beside Soraka. Irelia stepped out of the door way so the Star Child would be able to leave the room, letting herself out of the house.

Irelia turned her eyes to the Noxian perched on the edge of the bed, her amber eyes glued to the floor. She crossed the room, stopping briefly in front of Riven before sitting beside her where Soraka had just been. The pair sat in silence, Irelia attempting to read the emotions Riven was feeling. Once she couldn't figure it out, she had to ask.

"What's the matter?"

"You think I'm going crazy." Riven still refused to look at her.

"Why do you say that?" Irelia continued to respect the space Riven was tacitly asking for with her hunched over shoulders, shying away from the Ionian.

"The way Soraka acted around me before…" Riven let out a heavy breath, "She acted as if I was about to snap. As if I was fragile." Irelia sighed slightly, watching the side of Riven's face, hoping the Noxian would look at her.

"I don't think you're going crazy. I am just worried about your lack of improvement. I am worried that there's something else. I don't care what it is; I just want to help you." Riven eyes darted quickly up to Irelia's, the Ionian taking the opening to pull Riven into her. Riven resisted at first before giving up, letting the Ionian hold her.

"Okay." Riven said flatly, obvious that she didn't really believe Irelia but that she wanted to.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Riven turned to Irelia, a feeling of anxiety clawing at her throat, she was looking for reassurance from the Ionian. It was the first time that she had left the house since Irelia had found her in the forest. It was also the first time that she would be speaking to someone here without Irelia being present or at least nearby. She had never met Karma before either, she had only heard her voice before and now here she was, about to spend time alone with the Elder, away from the safety of Irelia and her home.

"It will be fine. Don't look as if you think she's going to eat you." Irelia smiled before knocking on the front door. It took a moment but Karma answered, smiling at the pair before gesturing for Riven to enter. Riven crossed through, Irelia staying behind on the door step.

"Just follow the hall and take a seat on the couch, I'll be right in." She said with a smile to the Noxian before turning back to Irelia. "You should come back in three hours I would say. I'll send someone if it will take longer." Irelia nodded before leaving, Karma closing the front door.

Riven watched the hallway from the couch, waiting for the Elder to come. She felt as if something was crawling on her skin, trying to ignore it as she knew nothing was there. Riven couldn't figure out why she felt so on edge, as far as she knew Karma was well known for being fair and well liked. Merciful. Irelia had reassured her that this was just a chance for Karma to talk to her, nothing more. Riven felt that Irelia had been keeping something from her when she told Riven that, but she couldn't be sure.

Karma appeared at the end of the hallway, returning the stare Riven gave her before crossing the room to sit on one of the lounge chairs across from the couch. On the coffee table between them, tea sat already prepared, knowing that Irelia would bring Riven on time.

Moments passed with silence between them, Riven gnawed at her lower lip, she recognised the technique the Elder was using. She was using the silence in order to get Riven to talk. Karma smiled, knowingly, as she realised that silence wasn't a tactic that would work on the Noxian.

"Do you have a surname?" Riven stared at her, waiting a few moments to respond. She didn't want to talk about herself or her past, certainly not to a stranger. She found it hard enough to speak to Irelia about these things, but Irelia asked her to try and it seemed important, so she would.

"No. No last name." Karma nodded, watching Riven.

"Do you have a family?" Riven's stare turned into a glare. She knew that Karma had the answers to that already and if she didn't, she could have easily found out without asking.

"No. Street orphan." Karma smiled gently, trying to counter Riven's aggression and frustration.

The questioning went back and forth like this for three hours like Karma had predicted. Karma asked questions about Riven's background, her childhood, her life in the military, what members of Noxian society she did and didn't know and Riven answered it all, briefly and reluctantly. She attempted to give the Elder as little as possible.

Riven only felt relaxed at the end, when she was rescued from the endless questioning by Irelia's return. It dawned on Riven how much she had begun to rely on Irelia and she felt uncomfortable, vulnerable.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Irelia tapped her fingernails on the arm of the chair, waiting in Karma's office for the Elder to return. Irelia was impatiently awaiting the answer Karma had for her about Riven's status here in Ionia. She didn't know what she would do if Karma had decided they couldn't have her stay, Riven couldn't go back to Noxus and Irelia didn't want her to leave. She looked up at the clock on the wall, she was five minutes early due to her own anxiety, and Karma was most likely tending to other important duties and would be here soon even if it didn't calm her.

Eventually the Elder entered through the door, claiming her seat opposite Irelia, her desk between them. She had obviously asked Irelia to come to her office and not to meet her for tea elsewhere in order for this to be more formal and private. Irelia waited for the Elder to speak.

"I'm sorry that it took me a few days, but I have come to a decision about whether Riven has the right to stay here." Karma paused momentarily, reading Irelia's expression, "I have decided that she can stay, I will give her that right under my name." Karma smiled slightly at the expression of relief on Irelia's face, "However, there are conditions." The feeling of relief disappeared quickly, turning to concern.

"You are not seriously going to make her join our military, are you? I came up with that idea before I knew her, when I had just found her. You can't go through with that." Karma sighed slightly, feeling Irelia's fear and frustration.

"No, I'm not going to make her do that. I considered it but I don't think she's in any state to be helping us like that, at least for the time being. You also know I'm not that cruel." Irelia dropped her eyes to the floor in front of her guiltily. "You're getting very caught up in your feelings for Riven. While it doesn't bother me, I'm happy for you, it will bother many of the other Elders. They will also think that I approved her right to stay because of your feelings which is why I have conditions in hopes to placate them. Firstly, Riven has to remain largely under your supervision for the first several months of her living here; we can't have her doing and seeing what she wants before the other Elders are ready to trust that she doesn't plan to give vital information back to Noxus. Second, when she has recovered, however long that takes, she will have to perform some kind of service for Ionia. It may not necessarily be military service but she has to do something. These terms are the only way that I can approve your request without another Elder trying to override me here."

Irelia let out a long breath before nodding, she didn't like the idea of Riven being so trapped and controlled but she knew it was that or Riven leaving. She especially did not like the idea of Riven serving Ionia without being her own choice, but at least it seemed like there could be room for negotiation on what kind of service that would be.

"Okay. Thank you, Karma. I'll speak to Riven about this, I'm sure she'll be relieved to know she can stay." Karma smiled warmly at Irelia before she stood up and left the office. `

When Irelia returned home, she found Riven sitting on the couch, building card houses on the coffee table again as she had found Riven several days ago. She watched quietly for a moment before moving to sit next to her on the couch.

"Karma has agreed to let you stay here in Ionia." Irelia said after several moments of silence between the two of them, Riven moving her attention from the cards to her.

"Okay." Riven said, watching Irelia's face and waiting for something else.

"You have to stay with me for the next several months though, even when you're recovered. Karma also wants you to serve Ionia in some way, though she never said how. I assume some public service. It's the only way she could keep the other Elders from refusing to have you stay here." Irelia anxiously watched Riven's face, she wasn't sure how the Noxian would react to being controlled, she was afraid Riven might prefer to leave than be under such intense scrutiny.

"They really don't want me here, do they?" Riven asked, her eyes glued to the card house on the table before she flicked it over.

"They are just afraid of the people and ideals you represent in their eyes. They don't know you, Riven." Irelia raised her hand, cupping Riven's cheek and turning her head to make eye contact.

"I'll only cause trouble by staying. I should go back to…" Riven paused, knowing she couldn't go back even if she wanted to, "I can find somewhere else."

"What if I don't want you to find somewhere else?" Riven bit her lower lip, trying to hide how much hearing that Irelia wanted her stay pleased her.

"Okay."

"Okay?" Irelia asked, she wanted to hear more from Riven.

"I'll stay, but…" She attempted to turn her face away from Irelia who only pulled it back, "If I get in the way, I want you to tell me so I can go."

"You won't get in the way."

"You don't know that." Irelia sighed slightly, not out of frustration but out of empathy.

"Maybe not, but I would like to think that I do." After a few moments of silence between the pair, Irelia stood up and headed for the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Riven asked instinctively.

"I'm going to move your belongings into my room; I don't want you staying in my guest room anymore." She said with a smile before heading up the stairs.

A/N: Hey guys, apologies for the slow pace of the last few chapters, it'll be picking up from here. :D


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

"I have sent the samples to Piltover, it was beyond the testing we could do here in Ionia, but the testing I could do showed that Singed's poison is still in the burns. Despite the intense full body scrubs we gave her when we got her back here. Once I know more about it, I can come up with a treatment plan. I can't tell you whether the hallucinations, paranoia and nightmares are part of it or not though, not until I know more. I know you're worried." Irelia sighed at the lack of answers given by Soraka but flashed her an appreciative smile anyway, it wasn't Soraka's fault that Ionia didn't have the technology.

"Thank you anyway Soraka, let me know as soon as you know more." The Star Child nodded with a smile as she began packing up her equipment. She had come over to perform a check up on Riven, having finally given the Noxian permission to wander around outside of the home for the first time since she got here. Of course, Riven had taken the opportunity to leave immediately to explore the small area that she was allowed to see without Irelia with her.

"So you had her move into your room? I'm surprised." Soraka said as she paused in the doorway, looking back at Irelia.

"Surprised?"

"You haven't taken any relationship this seriously since…" Soraka eyed her with concern, not prepared to finish her own sentence.

"I don't want to talk about it." Soraka only nodded before heading out and down the stairs.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Riven wandered the small stone streets that surrounded Irelia's home. She was glad to be breathing fresh air again; she could only cope with being stuck inside for so long, even if she couldn't wander too far.

Ionia was bother very similar and very different to Noxus, both had largely rejected the technological advances of Piltover barring what was necessary and favoured stone streets instead of the Piltovian concrete. Only the rich got to enjoy the technological advances that did manage to reach its way to Ionia and Noxus, the poor still lived by candlelight. Riven only got to experience living in a place with electricity when she joined the military and when she was away on a mission it was back to using candles.

She had been walking for only a few minutes when the feeling of being watched, being followed, sunk into Riven's skin. She turned her head to look over her shoulder, checking her surroundings. It seemed that her paranoia was just sneaking up on her again, not an actual person. Or at least that was what she had thought. It wasn't until she turned the corner into an empty street that someone shoved her into a wall, pressing the outside of their arm to the back of her neck and a knee into her back. Riven gasped for air as the arm on her neck held the side of her face against the wall and restricted her ability to breathe.

"They plan to force you to serve in the military; they only want you to work for them, to do what you did for Noxus. No one wants you here, Noxian. I suggest you leave before they turn you into Captain Lito's personal attack dog, that's all they think you're good for." The male speaker gifted Riven a punch into her lower back, right into her burns before removing himself from her and walking away. She fell to her knees, clawing at her back in pain and attempting to catch her breath as if she had almost drowned. By the time she had gathered herself enough to look for the attacker, he was long gone. It took her a few minutes but she pulled herself up off the floor, she was shaking. Her thoughts were a mess, she had trusted Irelia and yet they planned to make her serve in the Ionian military like she had for Noxus? Is that what they had meant by her 'public service'? If so they had managed to play her, she felt foolish and betrayed.

As she made her way back to Irelia's home, her feeling of foolishness and fear had turned into blistering anger, her fingernails digging into her palms. She forced the front door open, finding that Irelia's armour was gone from the rack at the door. At least she wouldn't have to confront her before leaving.

Once inside Irelia's room, she began scrambling for the few sets of clothes she had been given by the Captain, shoving them inside her bag that Irelia had found with her out in the forest. Her frantic actions were only halted by seeing her repaired Noxian Commanders uniform sitting on top of the dresser. She picked it up, running her fingers over it, Irelia hadn't said she would be getting it repaired. It was most likely meant to be a surprise. She quickly shoved it in her bag, pushing her feelings of warmth for the Captain aside and leaving the room, only stopping to grab her rune sword.

Xxxxxxx

Irelia came home after tending to a few of her duties as Captain of the Guard, removing her armour at the door and calling out for Riven, hoping to find the Noxian in a good mood. When she got no immediate response, she moved upstairs, looking in the bathrooms to check that she wasn't unable to hear her. Once she entered her room, she saw that all of Riven's belongings had been stripped of where they had been. The rune sword missing from by the door, the draws that had held her clothes open and empty, the freshly repaired Commander's uniform taken from the dresser. Irelia's hands began to shake as it dawned on her that Riven had just taken her things and disappeared, leaving no note or any sign of a plan to return. The Noxian had left her.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15:

"Karma!" Irelia called out, seeing the Elder just leaving her office at the end of the day. Thank the gods she was able to catch her in time. Karma paused, looking at her with an expression of concern; she could see Irelia's panic.

"Calm down, what's the matter?" Karma placed her hands on Irelia's shoulders, trying to help calm the Captain's breathing. She took a few deep breaths before responding to Karma.

"Riven's gone. She took all her belongings and disappeared."

"Do you think she left or was she taken?" Irelia looked to the floor between them.

"I don't know. I…I think she left." Karma guided Irelia gently into her office and sat her down on one of the chairs before making Irelia some tea.

"What do you want to do?" Irelia took some deep breaths and a sip of tea, thinking about what she would like to come next.

"If she were anyone else, I would leave her be but she's not and she isn't in any state to be roaming so far away on her own. I still haven't heard anything about her test results from Soraka." Karma nodded before standing and getting one of the messengers from down the hall, sending the boy to get Soraka if she has any news.

"How about we find out if Soraka knows anything yet and then we decide what to do from there?" Karma offered her a warm smile and Irelia nodded. Karma had always been great at comforting and taking care of others, there was a reason she was so well liked.

The pair sat in a comfortable silence, sipping tea, until Soraka arrived carrying a beige envelope that had already been opened. Irelia sat forward, putting her cup back on the table and turning to Soraka. She was desperate to hear what Soraka had to say.

"I received the results this morning while I was visiting you, when I got back to the clinic I found it. I was going to speak to you tomorrow about them once I had finished coming up with a treatment plan but clearly you need to know now," Soraka paused momentarily, reading Irelia's face before continuing, "The results show that there's a specific chemical used in Singed's poison that sticks to the wounds it creates, if I had known when we had originally treated her, I would have been more thorough. Treatment wise, it's a painful solution, it means a chemical and scraping treatment to remove all the layers of skin that have grown over the burns in order to be able to get at the poison still sitting on her wounds," Irelia cringed at the idea of removing the layers of skin on Riven's burns, the Noxian was still in enough pain whenever she was touched, it would be agony, "The chemical make-up we found would explain Riven's hallucinations and why her recovery has stagnated but as far as we know, it doesn't explain the nightmares or paranoia that you've told me about. Though I guess that could be a result of hallucinations, but you said they came before the hallucinations, yes?" Irelia nodded in response. "Most likely, her nightmares and paranoia are just related to her trauma, there's not much you can do for that other than give her time."

"Thank you." Irelia managed to croak out, Soraka smiling kindly back before speaking again.

"It will only get worse if she doesn't get treatment, you'll have to find her and bring her back here." Soraka rubbed her hand comfortingly on Irelia's shoulder before leaving, Karma and Irelia now alone.

"What would you like to do?" Karma asked her again.

"Send out some scouts; send one specifically to the Navori region."

"The Navori region?" Karma's eyebrows furrowed.

"Yes, I have a feeling she might go there, she feels large amounts of guilt and regret for what happened in those villages. With the paranoia she's feeling right now, I think she might be drawn to them."

"What do you plan to do when you find her?"

"I'll bring her back. I can't leave her out there without treatment at the very least. I also… I want to convince her to stay." Karma nodded, knowingly and let Irelia leave her office without any further questions.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Riven curled up in the grass, her arms wrapped around her knees, staring at the pitiful campfire she had made. She hadn't been able to find the materials she was looking for and so the result was a fire that barely kept her warm. She cursed herself as she dug into her bag, grabbing the coat of her old uniform and draping it over her own body.

She was heading for the village that the little girl she had seen in Irelia's room was from, where she had killed that girl's father. Riven wanted to see what had come after her and her men had ransacked it, did anyone still live there? Did anyone survive at all?

The stranger who attacked her in the streets of the Placidium was right, no one wanted her here and she didn't deserve to be, but at least on the way out of Ionia she would commit to memory the destruction she had caused. Riven hadn't decided where she would go after leaving Ionia. She couldn't go back to Noxus even if she wanted to. It was possible that she could go to Bilgewater or Piltover, if they would have her. Not many would be interested in keeping a supposedly dead political dissident around.

She had been lead to believe that maybe Irelia was one of the few who did want her to be around despite her past. The Captain had done a very good job at pretending that she cared. Riven cursed herself for being such a fool and believing the Ionian. She wished she was wrong about Irelia, she was the first woman that Riven had ever seriously felt something for and this is what she gets for it.

Riven tossed and turned with her paranoid thoughts on the grass for a few hours before finally being exhausted enough to sleep, not knowing about the pair of eyes watching her from the trees.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16:

Irelia sat in her office in the Placidium, it was just down the hall from Karma and the other Elders. She chewed nervously at the first knuckle of her index finger, she was sick of waiting for some news. It had been a few days since Riven had disappeared and the Noxian wouldn't leave Irelia's mind, she was worried that something could happen to her even though Ionia tended to be safer than Noxus or the rural parts of Demacia, when a person you have feelings for suddenly disappears rational thinking goes with them. Irelia also feared Riven getting worse out there where she couldn't receive the help she needed. She feared that Riven would manage to leave and never come back.

The Captain jumped slightly at the knock on the door, she had been so lost in her own thoughts she forgot she was in her office. It was one of the messengers, carrying a letter. He quickly placed the letter on Irelia's desk before leaving her alone with it again. She picked it up, seeing the symbol in the corner, she ripped it open frantically. It was from one of the scouts she had sent out to find Riven; she had told them only to write if they found her.

It was from the scout she had sent out to the Navori villages, it had taken him a few days to catch up to the Noxian but he had found her sleeping in the bushes on some farmer's property. The scout continued to write to say that Riven looked exhausted as Irelia had asked for a status update if they could get close enough to give one. She wrote back to the scout to tell him to wait in his position to make sure Riven doesn't leave and that she would make the trip there herself to bring the Noxian back to the Placidium.

She left to inform Karma and a few other Elders that she would be leaving the Placidium and would return in roughly a week. It would give her three days to get there, a day to convince Riven to return and three days to return. She would write if anything changed. Irelia informed her second in command to take over the normal duties of her office, but to write to her if anything important came up while she was gone. It took her a few hours to gather her things but she left the Placidium, heading for the Navori villages on the outer edge of Ionia before dusk.

It took Irelia two and a half days to reach the Navori villages; she only stopped when she decided to settle in for the night. Once she was there, she set up the agreed signal for the scout to come and find her. The scout responded to her signal within two hours. He bowed slightly at the sight of his superior.

"Do you know where she is right now?"

"Yes ma'am, come with me." She followed him, forcing their way through the forests that surrounded the villages. The villages weren't much more than groups of civilians who managed to escape on the nights that the Noxian army raided them, a few families who decided to live in the ruins instead of move on. Around them, make shift cemeteries were created to take care of the hundreds dead, most of them without real head stones or signifiers of any kind. There were too many killed for that.

It was at one of these cemeteries that Riven was found. She stood at the end of a long line of freshly covered graves, staring at them. The scout at Irelia's side took this as his cue to leave the two women alone. Irelia stepped forward, making it so that Riven could see her. Riven's amber eyes darted up to the Ionian before looking away again.

"I should have known you would follow." Irelia slowly closed the distance between them, only stopping a few paces away, giving Riven space.

"That's what happens when you leave without speaking to me, or even just a note."

"You know I can't write. I couldn't leave a note even if I wanted to."

"That is not the point. Why did you leave? Was it something I did?" Riven took a few steps back, creating more space between them and looked back towards the graves they stood in front of.

"I don't want to talk about it. I want you to leave."

"I can't do that. I need to bring you back to the Placidium. The test results Soraka was waiting on finally came back, you need a few more treatments first before you can recover properly."

"Why do you care? Just leave me be." Irelia sighed in frustration.

"You know why I care. If you won't come back to be with me, at least just come back to get the treatment you need. I won't make you stay if you don't want to."

"How can I even know if you're telling me the truth?"

"You can't. Though it's take the risk of me lying to you or risk dying to your burns. Which is it, Riven?" After several moments of silence and a ragged, aggravated breath from Riven, she nodded and followed Irelia back to one of the small townships nearby. She removed her Commanders coat, flaunting that she was a Noxian in one of these towns would not be smart.

Irelia paid for a room at the Inn, refusing to let Riven sleep on her own in case she decided to flee again. Neither the Noxian nor the Ionian felt the presence of the person watching from afar as they settled into their room. Once inside, Irelia locked the door, leaving her alone with Riven.

"I want you to tell me why you left. What did I do that made you distrust me so much?" Riven was sat on the floor by the bed, her knees against her chest. She buried her face into her knees for a moment before looking up at the Captain to answer.

"You were planning to have me serve in the military. You were going to use me like Noxus did. I can't do that, not again." Irelia stiffened slightly. While the original plan was to eventually have Riven serve in the military, it wasn't to be anything like her service for Noxus, they had planned to have her train some of their soldiers and possibly defend the Placidium if Noxus invaded again. That plan had also changed as Irelia got to know Riven, she couldn't make the Noxian serve again, not after what it had done to her.

"Where did you hear that?" She tried to keep her tone as flat as possible, it didn't work.

"A guy cornered me when I left the house; he informed me of your little plan and made it clear that I wasn't welcome here. He had a point so I left."

"So you decided to take the word of a man you've never met over me who you've been staying with for months now?" Riven bit her lip and looked down, she felt slightly foolish when it was worded like that.

"He just said what everyone was thinking. I don't deserve to be anywhere near you or the Placidium. Not after what I did."

"What makes you think that I feel that way about you? What makes you think that I don't want you around?"

"Because why would you?"

"I don't care about what you have done, Riven. You're punishing yourself for that more than I or anyone else ever could. I care for you, I want you to be with me." Irelia knelt in front of Riven, cupping her jaw before moving in and kissing the Noxian. It took a moment but Riven reciprocated, bringing her arms from around her knees and placing them on Irelia's hips. Irelia broke away first, resting her forehead against Riven's. "Will you stay with me?"

"Is it true? Was that what you meant by public service?"

"Yes and no. Yes, that was originally the plan when I found you but I couldn't make you now, not after knowing what you've been through. I care too much now." She kissed Riven again. Irelia felt Riven's muscles begin to loosen into her touch, moving her free hand to the hem of the Noxian's shirt. "Will you stay?"

"Yes. But you need to be more honest. I can't go through all that again."

"I won't keep anything from you again, even if I don't think it is relevant." Irelia moved back in to kiss Riven again, hesitating just slightly.

"What is it?" Riven ran her eyes over Irelia's face, "You have something else to tell me?" Irelia carded her fingers through Riven's hair.

"Yes, I guess I do. I think you should know that my last partner… She uh… She died." Riven swallowed hard, she wasn't good at comforting others. She didn't have the ability to use words that many did.

"I'm… I'm sorry to hear that." She bit her lip, "How did she die? If you don't mind me asking." There was a short silence between them as Irelia got up the courage to speak.

"She died in the last Noxian invasion before this one. She was a Commander in the military; I found her body after we lost a battle."

"I'm surprised you could be so kind to a Noxian after that… I know I couldn't."

"She most likely died by the hand of some boy who was forced or tricked into being there. I can't hate people who do things because they have no choice; it is a waste of time and energy. It was a long time ago now but I thought I should tell you if we are being honest now." Riven nodded before kissing her, pulling her in tightly. She wasn't exactly sure how to comfort the Captain, but she would try her best.

Before they knew it, they had moved up onto the bed, removing each other's clothes; this was far gentler than the first time they had done this. Afterwards, Riven relaxed in Irelia's arms, feeling far more comfortable with the Ionian now that they had managed to get past Riven's paranoia.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17:

That night Riven was startled awake by the sound of clashing metal. Above her stood a redheaded woman, venomous green eyes glaring down at her. The assassin held a dagger in her grip, the downwards motion into her neck having been stopped by Irelia's blades, Riven darted her eyes between the two women before the assassin moved back into a defensive position. Riven now recognised the redhead as she stood in a different light, Katarina Du Couteau, a woman she had heard many stories of and only met once.

Irelia moved from the bed, striking her blades against the assassin's daggers as Riven moved for her rune sword that had been propped up against a wall on the other side of the room. She turned, grabbing the hilt of her rune sword, watching the clashing of blades between the two women. Irelia made bold strikes, refusing to hesitate on the possibility of killing Katarina, but the redhead moved far too quickly, always out of striking distance just in time.

Riven gripped at the leather covered hilt of her rune sword, she wanted to help Irelia but the room was far too small for Riven to begin swinging her blade around. She found her opening to join when Katarina knocked Irelia to the ground with the swipe of her foot. The assassin brought her blade down, aiming for the kill before Riven intercepted with her own blade.

"I didn't know you had a thing for dead women, Riven." Katarina exclaimed with a smirk filled with venomous pleasure, before once again moving back into a defensive position. Riven furrowed her brow in response, not understanding what the assassin meant before lunging forward, restraining her movements to avoid catching her blade on anything as she moved through the room.

A pair of daggers met Riven's as she swung her blade down onto the assassin. The small space wasn't designed for someone with such a large sword; Katarina took the advantage, slicing Riven from her left hip to just below her ribs on the right. The only thing that saved Riven from this being a fatal wound was Irelia's hand on her shoulder, pulling her back in time. She hissed in pain, clutching her abdomen as Katarina watched with a victorious smirk. Irelia took the assassin's moment of gloating as a chance to place her foot in the middle of Katarina's chest, forcing the redhead out the window behind her and shattering the glass.

Irelia grabbed Riven's arm, pulling it over her shoulder to support her as they made a quick escape out of the back entrance of the inn. As the stumbled through the forest behind the inn, Riven pulled her hand away from her stomach, seeing it stained with blood. It wasn't a fatal wound but it was close. Irelia had saved her life for a second time.

"I don't want to do this but I don't think we have a choice." Irelia said, looking at Riven's blood soaked shirt and arm. They had come across a farm with some horses, the Captain untying one of them and climbing up before pulling Riven up with her. They had no idea what state Katarina was in, whether she was able to follow them and Riven was in desperate need of medical attention.

Riven sat on the horse in front of Irelia who helped keep her up in a sitting position as she got weaker throughout the trip. They briefly stopped at the next village to get supplies to take care of her wound until they could reach the Placidium and Soraka. To use a horse to get back it would only take half the time, Riven should make it until then.

As they got closer to the Placidium, Irelia caught sight of a camp in the distance. Riven was slumped over in her arms, still breathing but barely conscious. Irelia decided to approach the camp, hoping to receive some more supplies to last the few hours between here and the Placidium. She froze when she noticed the insignia on the tents and banners; it was a unit from Noxus. How had they come so far inland without being noticed? If they had been noticed, why had she not been informed? It took a few more hours but the pair reached the Placidium in the middle of the night, Irelia carried the Noxian in her arms, bringing her to Soraka immediately.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18:

"What the hell happened?" Soraka asked, clearly panicked by Irelia appearing on her door step in the middle of the night with a nearly dead Riven. She had Irelia place Riven on the couch in the living room before kneeling in front of it and removing Riven's shirt. The Noxian was passing in and out of consciousness now. Soraka could see the packing in the wound that Irelia had managed to do with some low grade supplies she had gotten from a village on the way.

"We were attacked by the Du Couteau assassin, they somehow found out Riven was alive and sent Du Couteau for her." Soraka looked briefly up at Irelia, her brow furrowed in confusion before she turned her gaze back to the Noxian and removed the packing from the wound.

"But I thought she was just a low level Commander? Why on earth would they send an assassin to kill her? And even if sending one made sense, why the Du Couteau assassin?" Soraka pressed her hands to the wound, using her abilities to begin healing the wound as best as she could.

"She was. I don't know why they would be so desperate to kill her and make sure it worked. It doesn't make sense from the intel we have."

"Maybe she knows something she shouldn't." Soraka offered as she watched the wound close, leaving a deep red line along the skin. She began using a damp cloth to wipe the skin clean of blood before applying salve to aid the healing process.

"Maybe." Irelia mused. There was a brief knock at the door before Karma entered. The guards at the entrance of the Placidium must have sent word to her about her and Riven's arrival and the state the Noxian was in. Soraka pulled Riven's shirt down before grabbing a blanket and covering her with it.

"What happened?" Karma asked, turning to Irelia.

"Katarina Du Couteau happened, she tried to assassinate Riven in the middle of the night while we were sleeping, obviously not knowing that I was awake."

"Katarina Du Couteau? Why send her?" Irelia shrugged slightly as her response. "Is she going to be alright?"

"She'll be fine, Irelia managed to pack the wound well, keeping Riven alive until they got back to the Placidium. She should be back to normal within a few days. Or at least what she was before she was wounded by Katarina. I'll give her the treatment for her burns then." Irelia nodded to Soraka before turning to Karma.

"I need to speak with you." She then guided Karma outside, standing on the doorstep as they spoke. "On the way to the Placidium I found a Noxian encampment. It's four or five hours away at best. Are you aware of them?" By the twist of Karma's lips, she figured this was news to her.

"I hadn't been informed of that, no. Any clue how they could have gotten so far inland without being noticed?" Irelia shook her head, gnawing at her lower lip.

"No clue. I'll speak to my men at first light and prepare them, for now I'm concerned about Riven. She should be fine but to have the Du Couteau assassin sent after her, I'm not sure our intelligence about her being just a low level Commander was correct."

"I'll speak with her tomorrow, see if I can find out anything more. She refused to talk to me about anything classified that she may or may not have known when we spoke last, but maybe the threat of Katarina Du Couteau being after her will change her mind." Irelia nodded, she didn't like the idea of forcing Riven to speak about something she wanted to keep to herself, but they needed to know the risk involved with keeping Riven here in the Placidium. Karma continued, "After Riven left, I began looking into possible reasons why and I heard some whispers about a plot by some of the other Elders to have Riven executed. I'm going to try find out more but I figure it will be difficult."

Irelia gnawed at her lip with worry before stepping back inside, seeing an unconscious Riven on the couch. Karma chose to leave, heading for her office to try and find more information about Riven and her status in the Noxian military, figuring there was something someone had missed. Once Soraka had finished examining the Noxian, she returned to bed for the few hours she had left before she was needed at the clinic. Irelia chose to sit on the seat facing the couch, watching over Riven as she slept.

After an hour, Riven opened her eyes, staring back at Irelia and locking eyes. The pair sat in silence for a few moments before the Noxian decided to break it.

"What did she mean by dead women?" Irelia averted her gaze, biting at her lower lip and clenching her fists slightly. She had wished this subject would never come up. She let out a heavy sigh before answering.

"She meant that in a previous Noxian-Ionian conflict, I died in battle but Soraka used her abilities to bring me back. I am not technically living anymore, I am a lich." She paused briefly, watching Riven's face, fearing a look of disgust or rejection. "My blades and I are Irelia. They contain my soul."

"Why didn't you just tell me that? I thought you said you would be honest with me from now on." Irelia's face twisted at that jab, she was right, Irelia hadn't been forthcoming with her situation.

"I was afraid you would have a problem with that. I also hoped that maybe you would have known already through Noxian intelligence. I guess my being a lich is a closer kept secret in the Noxian military than I first thought." Riven looked away, a look of frustration and betrayal setting in on her features. "I should have told you and I'm sorry."

"Does it mean you're stuck the way you are forever?" Irelia quirked her eyebrow, the Noxian was asking her if she aged.

"Yes. I'm stuck as exactly how I was when I died."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"I'm angry that you didn't just tell me that earlier but I don't care that you're a lich." Irelia nodded before standing up, moving to the couch Riven was on and sat on the edge before cupping the Noxian's face affectionately with her hand, rubbing her thumb over the exposed burn on Riven's cheek gently.

"I'm glad that you don't care." She pressed her lips to Riven's briefly before pulling away. "I need to go back home and change; I'll come back hopefully in a few hours. Is there anything you need?"

"I need to speak to Karma sometime soon." Irelia was surprised by Riven's request but nodded before getting up and leaving, choosing not to question why Riven would want to speak to Karma when just over a week ago, she almost refused to do it. Riven was only surprising her more and more.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19:

When Irelia returned to Soraka's house in the late afternoon, she found Riven sitting on the couch, a blanket draped over her shoulders. Next to her sat Karma, the two of them engrossed in a long conversation that Irelia had interrupted.

"She'll be able to help us?"

"Yes, we're lucky that she's already here…" Karma started before seeing Irelia in the doorway, smiling at the Captain and then standing up to greet her.

"Talking about anything important?" Irelia asked, studying the look on Riven's face who averted her gaze.

"Not particularly, I'll clue you in later, Irelia. Have the preparations gone well? We know that the Noxian encampment is now on our doorstep, most likely they will attack tomorrow or the day after." Irelia hesitated, not wanting to leave the conversation Riven and Karma were having unquestioned, but answered anyway.

"Yes, they are currently setting up the long range weapons and our anti-siege gear, though I don't believe we will need the later. I didn't see any siege equipment when I rode past but it is best to be over-prepared than anything else." Karma nodded, smiling and placing her hand affectionately on Irelia's arm before heading to the door, only stopping to look at Riven.

"I'll have what you asked for sent to Irelia's home by the morning." Riven nodded and watched as Karma left.

"What was that all about?"

"I can't tell you yet, but I will."

Irelia bit her lip before nodding, choosing to give Riven the privacy she was asking for. Riven stood up, wrapping her arms around Irelia's waist, catching the Ionian by surprise. Riven wasn't one for initiating contact, but Irelia wasn't about to complain. After exchanging a few kisses, Irelia pulled away, taking Riven's hand.

"Come on, I should take you back home. We can't have you staying on Soraka's couch forever."

With Irelia supporting Riven, the pair made it back to the Captain's home. Once upstairs in Irelia's bedroom, Riven saw that the Ionian had returned Riven's belongings to where they had been before she had left, including her rune sword propped up by the door. She was grateful for Irelia's attention to detail.

This time when the pair of them went to bed, Irelia didn't pretend to sleep like she had in the past, now that Riven knew that she was a lich and no longer required sleep. She watched the Noxian fall asleep in her arms after a while of talking and then carded her fingers through her ashen hair. It had been a long time since she got to be with someone like this.

The next day, Riven was woken up by a knock at the door; Irelia who had been awake all night moved to answer it.

"Wait, I'll get it, it's for me anyway." Irelia sat on the edge of the bed as she watched Riven dart out the door and down the stairs, curious as to what it could be about. Riven returned shortly with a brown package, placing it on the dresser at the end of the room.

"What is it?" Irelia asked, waiting for Riven to open it.

"You'll see later." Riven smiled at her slightly before walking down the hall to the bathroom, taking a shower.

Irelia got herself ready, donning her armour, waiting at the door to say goodbye to Riven. Normally she would have just left, but if the Noxians were to strike today and something were to go wrong, she wanted to have had the chance to say goodbye first. When Riven emerged from the bathroom, Irelia called out to her and asked her to come downstairs. She took the chance to kiss Riven deeply and say goodbye before heading out. It only took a few hours before the Noxians struck at the front gates.

Irelia at first wasn't sure where the Noxians had gotten their siege weapons until they got close; they were Zaunite, obviously given to this company of soldiers through their recently formed alliance. She commanded for her men to bring forth the anti-siege equipment, to make every attempt to keep the Noxians on the outside of the walls for as long as possible while Karma and the other Elders worked to move the civilians to safety.

The Captain was startled when Riven appeared at her side, sporting the blue and white Ionian Commanders uniform, her rune sword in hand. Irelia watched her with concern, Soraka hadn't completed the treatment on her burns yet and she had only been wounded two days prior, Riven wasn't in the condition to fight. Irelia knew better than to try and stop the Noxian, not with that look of determination on her face.

It took hours for the Noxians to finally break down the gates of the Placidium, they had managed to delay long enough for the majority of civilians to move to safer areas or out of the Placidium completely. Now that the Noxians had managed to break down the gates, it was time for warriors like Riven to make their move. Irelia kept to the back of the battle, trying to hold off from joining the front line for as long as possible, in order to give commands with as much information as possible.

When it looked as if they were losing, Irelia readied her blades and joined the front line, striking down as many Noxian soldiers as possible. The men weren't difficult foes for her; none knew how to counter someone who didn't even need to wield their blades. The Captain's attention was pulled from the Noxians around her by the loud clashing of metal and grunting, heaving of General Darius. In front of the general stood Riven, blocking the incoming swings of his axe using her rune sword. By the great force behind his swings, Irelia could tell that Riven wasn't just a normal opponent to him.

One particularly strong cleave of his axe on Riven's blade forced the woman into a kneeling position in front of him. He swung again, shattering the blade, sinking the axe deep into Riven. Blood covered the new, brilliant blue of the uniform she wore. Blood began spilling from her mouth as the General brought his foot up onto her shoulder to force her body away from his axe. He swung it over his shoulder, leaving Riven's body in the grass.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20:

Irelia's hand connected loudly with Riven's cheek.

"You're an asshole, you know that?" Riven brought her hand up to her face, rubbing at her livid skin.

"I know." Irelia put her hands on her hips, looking away from the Noxian. The pair stood inside the Institute of War, Irelia had been a champion of the League for years now but with the constant conflict back in Ionia, she and multiple other Ionian champions were on permanent leave until further notice. After giving Riven the cold shoulder for as long as she could stand, she pulled the Noxian into a tight embrace, pressing her lips to the woman's hairline.

"I'm glad you're okay but you should have told me what you were planning. I completely lost it." And she had completely lost it, once she had seen what she thought was Riven's death, she attacked General Darius in complete rage. She had even managed to wound the General severely enough that he was forced into a retreat. It wasn't until hours later when Irelia returned to her office, finding Karma sitting at her desk waiting for her, that she was informed that Riven was actually alive and on her way to the Institute with the help of Demacia.

Riven had planned with Karma behind the Captain's back to fake her own death to give them time to get her safe refuge in the Institute of War. With multiple plans to take Riven's life coming from different sides, they had decided the safest place for Riven was to be within the Institute and the immunity it gives champions who choose to reside there. It was with great luck that the Demacian light mage, Luxanna Crownguard, had come to visit the Placidium at the same time that the Noxians planned to attack on a diplomatic mission on the behalf of Prince Jarvan IV. The light mage had used her abilities to manipulate light to cast an illusion, making people think that Riven had died after her blade shattered when she had actually rolled out of the way just in time. Her rune sword had actually shattered though which pissed the Noxian off.

With General Darius' retreat from the Placidium, accords were opened up at the Institute of War in hopes to end the invasion once and for all by negotiation. Riven had been mostly hiding in Irelia's champion quarters, not ready yet to give the fact that she was alive away to the Noxians. Only Irelia, Karma, Soraka and Luxanna knew that Riven was really alive.

There was a short knock at the door; Riven opened it, finding Soraka on the other side of it. Riven stepped aside to let her in, noticing the redness of Riven's cheek she darted her eyes to Irelia, giving her a knowing stare.

"Sorry to interrupt your being reunited but we've put off giving Riven the treatment she needs long enough." She gestured at Riven for her to remove her shirt and bandages, which she did unflinchingly. She had stripped in front of these women countless times now. "Firstly I'll apply this chemical strip, it will loosen up the layers of your skin and then I will scrape away what I can before I use the antidote that I have for the poison on your burns before we redress the wounds. It's going to hurt, a lot." She said, looking between the Noxian and the Captain then applying the chemical strip to Riven's back and chest areas.

Riven clambered into the bath which Soraka had filled with water, sitting in a pair of shorts as Soraka began scraping away at the skin on her back. The Noxian dug her fingernails into the edge of the bath, clenching her teeth as the Star Child removed her skins layers at an agonisingly slow pace. Irelia watched only for a moment before grabbing hold of one of Riven's hands, letting the Noxian dig her finger nails into her palm.

It took almost an hour for Soraka to be done with the removal of Riven's skin layers, her upper body a bright red from irritation. Irelia put her hands under Riven's arms and helped her out of the bath, wrapping a towel around her then holding her to comfort her. Soraka left the salve and bandages for Irelia to complete the wound redressing. Riven laid down on the bed, letting Irelia rub the salve into her livid skin, biting down on her lower lip hard to prevent any pained noises from escaping her lips. She wrapped Riven's upper body in bandages as gently as she could before sliding into bed beside her, holding the Noxian in her arms.

"I love you." Irelia said, causing Riven to look up at her. "I realised that when I thought you had died. It's been a long time since I felt this strongly for someone and I love you, Riven." She pressed her lips to the Noxians.

"I've never been in love before so I don't know if that's what I feel. I don't know what I feel to be honest." Irelia kissed her forehead before running her fingers through her hair.

"That's okay, take your time." The pair's cuddling was interrupted by another knock at the door, Irelia sat up, walking over to it and opening it. It was Karma.

"I need to speak to Riven, now if possible." Irelia quirked her eyebrow at the Elder as Riven sat up and put on a shirt before walking over to Karma.

"What about?"

"I don't know exactly what yet, when I know, you'll know." Irelia scrunched up her face at that, it didn't make much sense to her but Riven left the safety of Irelia's champion quarters and followed Karma down the hall anyway.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21:

"It's time for you to tell me what you know." The normal warmth and gentility that Karma displayed was gone, replaced by hardened resolve. Karma was concerned about the welfare of Ionia's citizens, after all, just because they were able to force General Darius and his company into retreat this time doesn't mean they'll be able to do it the next. Ionia's only chance to end this war now was to force Noxus into signing an accord they can't get out of. Karma was called the Enlightened One for reasons more than just her spirituality; she could see through Riven, she knew the Noxian was hiding the extent of what she knew.

"I figured." Riven responded. She had been hoping to delay sharing what she knew, secretly hoping that maybe if she kept Noxus' secrets, they would leave her be. Clearly Noxus had no intention of giving her that chance. She ran her fingers through her own loosely tied back hair.

"I get it, Riven." The warmth had returned to Karma's tone, an attempt to coax the answers out of the Noxian, "Even if you are choosing to live in exile, to live in a nation who is the enemy of your homeland, it's something else to share their secrets when you served loyally for so long." Riven shook her head slightly, biting her lip.

"I can't keep their secrets any longer, especially if it can keep Irelia and everyone else safe." She hesitated a moment, crossing her arms against her chest before continuing, "Swain and the others… They had decided to prepare me for a future in High Command. I was chosen to be a Commander and then in the months before the Ionian invasion they included me in more and more classified strategy meetings and gave me greater access to information. I was shown plans… Plans to not only force Ionia to its knees but then Demacia, Piltover, the Freljord… They even wanted to look at taking Bilgewater." Riven scuffed her boot at the tile beneath her feet. Karma had brought her to one of the training rooms near the Ionian wing to have this conversation in private.

"So they had fully developed plans for an empire?"

"Not just that, plans for genocide of the weak. Particularly Ionians. They have plans to use chemical weapons like they used in Coeur and the Navori villages in order to wipe out large forces, even if it kills their own." Riven gestured to her own scarred face, "They're not afraid to use it. What they used in Ionia, on my company, that's just the small stuff. What is to come is much, much worse." Riven waited patiently as Karma ran her eyes over the Noxian, absorbing what she had just heard.

"Thank you, I know you didn't want to share that if you didn't have to. Do you want to tell Irelia, or should I?" Riven rubbed at the back of her neck.

"I'll do it. I should be the one to tell her anyway."

"Before we go, I should tell you that I've found out who has been planning to have you executed back in Ionia. I'm looking into what my options are to deal with it at the moment. Hopefully soon you should be able to return to Ionia with Irelia."

"Thank you." Karma smiled at her before peering out the door of the training room, examining the hall way for anyone that doesn't already know Riven's alive. Riven felt slight relief at the idea of being able to live somewhere safely where she could be with Irelia, she hadn't realised how much she disliked the idea of possibly having to live at the Institute of War and hope that Irelia could stay with her.

Karma returned Riven to Irelia's quarters, the Captain waiting patiently inside. She smiled warmly at Riven before patting the space on the couch beside her, beckoning for the Noxian to join her there. Riven sat down next to her before resting her head on Irelia's shoulder, letting the Ionian run her fingers through her hair. It was a soothing touch.

"Noxus has a genocide planned. They have chemical weapons much stronger than the ones used on my company that was just a test I think…" Irelia stopped the movement of her hand in Riven's hair for just a moment as she processed what she had been told before continuing, staying silent as she waited for Riven to speak, "They don't plan to stop at Ionia either. They have well developed plans for Piltover, Demacia, the Freljord…. Ionia is just the testing ground for their new weapons and strategies devised under Swain. They picked Ionia because they didn't expect you to fight back so hard." She felt Irelia's lips press to her temple. "They were planning to make more than just a regular commander at some point, even testing my loyalty…" Riven's breath hitched in her throat, purposefully remaining vague about how she had been tested, "But I can't live with what I know, not anymore. I thought at least if I kept quiet they might let me live but they won't even give me that."

Irelia pulled Riven into a tight embrace, choosing not to press the Noxian for any extra information, knowing Riven had given all she could afford to; even if she was living in exile she could tell that Riven was very patriotic in her own way.

"Riven, I know this is a lot to ask but is there any way you could be a witness at the accords if it were needed?"

"A witness?" Riven murmured into Irelia's chest.

"Yes, to attest to what you've seen and been told. I wouldn't ask if I weren't desperate. I don't think we can survive another attack like the last one. I know you might be worried that they'll try to kill you again if you speak, but they are going to know you were the one who gave us that information anyway."

Riven clenched her fists around the fabric of Irelia's shirt, thinking for a moment. She didn't want to do it. The idea of being sat in front of Swain, Katarina, Darius and the others and share their plans openly caused her to shudder with fear, she was disgusted by her own vulnerability but she knew Irelia was right. They would know who had shared that information as soon as Karma and Irelia used it during negotiations.

"Okay. I'll trust you."


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22:

Riven sat in a chair at the end of the end of the long oak table, on the right side sat those from Noxus' High Command, Swain, Katarina, Darius and LeBlanc and on the left sat Irelia, Karma and a few other Elders that Riven hadn't seen before. She had decided to make a statement by wearing the Ionian uniform Karma had given to her before Noxus attacked the Placidium, by the searing glare that she received from the members of Noxus' High Command, the illusions Luxanna had made during the battle had worked, they had no clue before this moment that she had survived. By the looks on the face of one of the Elders, he had no idea either. Riven figured he may be one of the Elders Karma spoke off by the way she turned her body away from him.

The plan to wear the Ionian uniform had worked as intended, Riven knew this by the way Swain narrowed his eyes at her before turning to the lead negotiator at the opposite end of the long table, the man had been assigned by the Institute of War to attempt to bring Noxus and Ionia to a ceasefire agreement in the short term and possibly a peace agreement in the long term.

"Commander Riven," The man started, "You've agreed to be here as a witness to attest to the allegations that Noxus has or plans to violate the treaty signed by all nations at the commencement of the League, yes?" Riven swallowed hard, Karma had put forward the information that she had shared with her and Irelia as a way to force Noxus to end their campaign. By violating the treaty through the use of chemical weapons, planning for genocide and long campaigns to establish an empire, it would mean that all nations and city states that had signed would agree to declare war on Noxus, a war that even Noxus would lose heavily.

"Yes, I have."

"You understand that means giving us direct access to your memories to ensure the truth behind the allegations you have made?" Riven only nodded as her response before a man behind her stepped forward, placing his hand to the side of her head, using magic to be able to access and display her memories as if it were one of those awful Piltovian drama shows that she had seen a few times on TV.

Her memories were first taken back to when she was given the rank of Commander, her former Commander that she served as a right hand to, had died in a horrific training accident and she was called into High Command to be given her new rank. It came with the rune sword she was known for, normally the promotion would come with more ceremony but Riven was glad to hide herself away from the attention.

Only weeks later was Riven called back to High Command by Swain himself, he expressed his desires to make her something more than just a Commander. Even though Riven had no name or social status, he believed she would be able to be something more, possibly even a General he suggested. But for that to happen it would require loyalty and strength, Swain promised to approach her in the near future with the challenge that would prove that she had those qualities.

He kept his promise; a week later he informed her that she could prove her loyalty and her strength by using the blade given to her by High Command to execute the man she had chosen to be her right hand, Abner. He wasn't strong but he was far smarter than Riven or any of the members of their company, Swain had figured out that Riven had been shielding him by making him her second in command, hiding his weakness and lack of battle skills. Riven's mind went to the night she carried out the request, bringing her rune sword down on his head in the training room before reciting 'Blood for Noxus'. What she had hoped to keep from those in the room was that she cried as she did it but she didn't get to choose what they did and didn't see.

After she had proven her loyalty and her strength to Swain, Riven was called back to High Command multiple times a week. Swain had her sit in on strategy meetings; let her see classified reports and plans. One by one, she went through the important memories of these meetings to show the truth of what Noxus had planned for many months before striking Ionia, dispelling the idea that it was provoked in away like they had previously claimed. She then chose to share the memory of the chemical melters in Ionia that killed the men of her company, almost ending her own life.

When she was brought back around, she was still sat in front of the different higher ups of both nations; Riven felt the intense and searing glare of Swain on her. She refused to make eye contact with the man.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23:

Riven got asked to leave the room while negotiations continued, she was secretly relieved to be allowed to leave the scrutiny of all of those in that room. Irelia had been watching her with concern after having seen everything she had gone through, things she hadn't shared with the Captain yet.

Instead of returning to Irelia's quarters like she had originally planned, she chose to wander through some of the gardens of the Institute as she no longer had to pretend she was dead, that secret was already out. She sat under one of the trees, resting up against the trunk, resting her broken rune sword across her thighs. Riven sat alone for nearly an hour until she felt the presence of someone else, watching her from a slight distance, not bothering to hide themselves.

"What is it?" Riven called out, gesturing with her hand for the person to come forward. The woman stepped forward, revealing herself to be a woman Riven recognised as LeBlanc, Swain's right hand. "What do you want?" Riven snapped at her.

"My, my, you have quite the attitude."

"I don't have time for your games, Deceiver." LeBlanc quirked her eyebrow slightly, the corners of her mouth twisting into a smirk.

"It doesn't seem like you have much else to do, Exile. I only came here to suggest that maybe you have a sympathiser."

"A sympathiser?"

"Yes. This sympathiser might agree with you that Noxus isn't heading in the direction that it should, that maybe Noxus and its path should be corrected." Riven ran her eyes up and down the Deceiver, was she really suggesting that she might want to help Riven change Noxus? "Do you have a plan, Exile?"

"A plan?"

"A plan for what you might want to do in order to change Noxus and what comes after." Riven shook her head slightly, her eyes locked on LeBlanc's, she still couldn't believe what the woman was insinuating. "When you have a plan, make a move and maybe this sympathiser will step forward and offer their assistance."

The Deceiver then disappeared in front of Riven, leaving her alone in the gardens. She chewed on her lower lip as she ran through what had just happened. The idea of LeBlanc wanting to offer her genuine help in taking down Swain was ridiculous; she loyally served that man as his right hand. Riven sat by herself for another while before eventually heading back to Irelia's quarters, she figured the Captain was probably worried over her short disappearance by now and she would need to show her that she was okay. Once she began to open the door to Irelia's room, she was pulled inside by a seemingly frustrated Irelia.

"Where have you been?" She asked, her hand on her hip.

"Sorry, I just went to the gardens." Riven looked away, guiltily.

"For almost three hours?" Riven nodded sheepishly, "You can't do that when there are people trying to kill you." Irelia sighed before smiling at her and reaching her hand forward, running her fingers through Riven's hair. "I figure you don't want to talk about your friend."

"Not really. Maybe in the future." Irelia gave her a sympathetic smile before pressing her lips against Riven's cheek. Irelia walked her fingers up Riven's stomach and chest.

"You know, I really like the way this blue looks on you. Too bad it's in my way." Riven swallowed at the sound of the familiar husky tone, Irelia's quick fingers undoing the buttons of the uniform, pushing the shirt open. The Captain was planning on distracting her with something else. Irelia smothered her in a series of searing kisses that made Riven's heart flutter uncomfortably.

"I love you." Riven managed to force out between kisses causing the Captain to stop, surprise only remaining on her face for a brief moment.

"I love you too." She responded before sinking her teeth into the now exposed part of Riven's shoulder. Irelia quickly backed her up against her the nearest wall, her hands darting down and undoing her belt, her teeth still sunk into Riven's flesh carrying out the painful branding as intended. "On your hands and knees, on the bed." Irelia said, her mouth hot against Riven's ear before the exile quickly scrambled to do as told.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24:

The next morning Riven was woken up by Irelia pressing her lips to her temple. When Riven attempted to roll over and go back to sleep the Ionian shoved her hard to keep her awake.

"Fine, fine." She murmured before sitting up, pushing the sheets of herself. "What do you even do when I sleep if you can't?" She asked as she stood up, looking at Irelia.

"Sometimes I read, sometimes I get up and go do other things then come back." Irelia shrugged slightly before heading to the kitchen. "I already made some food for you." She said as she came back with some sort of Ionian dish that Riven hadn't seen or tried before. Riven sat down at the dining table, picking up a fork before taking a first bite.

Irelia laughed hard when Riven began coughing, tears forming in her eyes. The Captain had obviously prepared a spicy dish, knowing that spice wasn't something used in Noxian cuisine at all. Irelia poured her a glass of milk, still grinning at her.

"I'm sorry; I'll get you something else." Riven narrowed her eyes at the Ionian.

"You're not sorry at all."

"No, not really." Irelia came back with something else from the kitchen, a simple sandwich that she could handle. Their conversation was interrupted with a short knock at the door, a pattern she began to recognise as Karma's knock.

"Karma." Irelia greeted with a smile upon seeing the Elder at the door.

"I come bearing good news this time," Karma started as she entered through the doorway, "The Noxians have signed the ceasefire agreement under the threat of all nations turning on them. It seems Riven's testimony changed the direction the accords were going in. It has also seemingly changed a lot of the opinions the Elders hold of Riven, I heard very little criticism when I spoke with them this morning. I'm going to continue to keep a vigilant eye on them but it seems the momentum behind the plot to have Riven executed has slowed for now."

"I'm relieved to hear that. You think it would be safe for Riven to keep living in the Placidium?" Irelia asked.

"I say give it some time for things to calm down after the ceasefire starts but in the near future, hopefully Riven can come back. Now, unless you two have anything to speak with me about, I need to go back to the meetings I've been having with the other Elders." Irelia nodded, letting the Elder leave as quickly as she arrived. Irelia then sat down at the table across from Riven, pursing her lips before talking.

"I have something to ask you, it's not officially okay for me to really tell you about it but there's no point going ahead with getting it sorted it out if you're not interested." Riven finished her sandwich then looked up at Irelia.

"Okay, what is it?"

"Karma and I have been discussing you joining the military to train future soldiers. You would have the same rank as what you were in the Noxian military, except you would just for now be training. We need to have a better insight into how Noxians fight so if they ever come back, we will be able to win." Riven chewed her lip for a moment. She was hesitant to join the military again but realistically she had already picked sides and walked around wearing an Ionian uniform.

"Okay." Irelia gave her a look of surprise; she hadn't expected it to be so easy for Riven to accept.

"You'll be reporting directly to me."

"I figured."

"And you're okay with that?"

"Yeah." Irelia ran her eyes up and down Riven, still surprised by her response.

"Good, I'll move ahead with it then." Riven then stood up from the table, grabbing some clothes from the dresser and her broken rune sword.

"I'm going to go train in one of those shared training rooms; I'll be back in a couple of hours." Irelia nodded and gave her a slight wave goodbye before picking up a book and sitting down on the couch, probably taking the only time she's had to herself in weeks.

Riven headed down the hall, heading to the grand hall, one of the few places in the Institute that wasn't segregated by city states, it had a few training rooms attached that all the champions could access. The Institute hadn't really spoken to Riven about how things worked but she figured they would once the negotiations of the ceasefire had been all straightened out. She passed several champions on her way there, a few she had recognised from some matches she had watched in bars back in Noxus, but most of them Riven had no clue as to who they were. Before she reached the training room she had been looking for, she heard a voice call out her name.

"Riven." She turned to face the speaker, Katarina Du Couteau, and gave the redhead a blank expression, showing neither anger nor fear.

"What do you want?" Riven asked, the corners of Katarina's mouth turned up into a smirk.

"You may have put a stop to our plans for now Riven, but that's just for now. I'm not afraid of spilling blood for Noxus, especially not yours." The glint of a knife in the assassin's hand caught Riven's attention, at first she thought Katarina was planning to kill her in front of everyone nearby but after a few moments passed Riven realised that for now it was just a threat.

"You can try to kill me or to continue with your plans, but you won't succeed." In response to this, Riven felt the blade of the knife that had been at Katarina's side now pressed against the skin of her neck.

"Blood for Noxus, Riven."

A/N: So that's the end of this fic, at least for now. I'd be open to writing a sequel/continuation to this if enough people would be interested in that. Let me know through reviews or PMs :D I love getting feedback on what you guys do and don't like so don't be afraid. I also take requests so let me know if there's any pairing/story idea that you would really like to see and I would consider doing that. Thanks for reading this far :D


	25. Author's Note

A/N: Hey guys, just posting this here to let you know I'm definitely working on a sequel to this story, I've started working on it right now and I'll be posting it separately from this one. I'll post here again with another update when the first chapter of that is up. Watch this space for the next couple days for the new chapter.


	26. Author's Note 2

A/N: Hey guys, I've posted the first chapter of the sequel to this story under the title "What Comes Next". I'd appreciate it if you guys leave reviews for it so I can know what you're thinking about it, the feedback truly helps :D Thanks for reading my work .


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